Graveside memorial telepresence method, apparatus and system

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and associated methods relate to a graveside communications device exchanging multimedia between a grave and a user&#39;s communications device remote from the grave, activating an energy emitter configured by the graveside device to physically interact with the grave responsive to the remote user&#39;s activity, and sending to the user&#39;s communication device a live indication of the interaction. In an illustrative example, the device at the grave may include a video camera. The user&#39;s device may be configured to exchange multimedia with the graveside device. In some examples, the energy emitter may be a laser pointer directed at the grave. The remote user&#39;s activity may be, for example, the user1 s voice captured by the user&#39;s smartphone modulating the laser pointer light. Various examples may advantageously provide graveside telepresence, permitting a user physical interaction with a grave, and providing live indication of the interaction to the user.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/854,499 filed May 30, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated bythis reference in their entireties for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate generally to graveside telepresence.

BACKGROUND

A memorial is a product of human activity serving as a remembrance.Memorials may take various forms. For example, some memorials may beceremonies that end when the participants leave. In various examples, aphysical memorial may be constructed as a long-lasting remembrance. Somememorials are constructed to remember people or events. For example, amemorial may serve to honor an individual, an event, or a group ofpeople. In some examples, a physical memorial may mark the location of ahistorically important event, such as a famous person's birthplace, or adeceased person's grave.

In an illustrative example, a deceased person's grave may be marked witha memorial monument placed at the grave. Some memorials may be locatedin private settings. In some examples, a private memorial may beinaccessible to the general public. For example, a memorial to a famousor historically significant deceased person may be located on restrictedaccess estate property. In various examples, a deceased person'smemorial may be located in a cemetery, with memorials to other persons.

A deceased person's family or friends may wish to visit the person'smemorial as an act of remembrance. Some family or friends may regularlyvisit a deceased person's memorial on special occasions. A visit to agrave memorial may help a living person include remembrance of adeceased person in their life during times such as, for example, aholiday season, or a religious observance. Some families may visit agrave memorial to pass on to their children remembrance of the deceased.In some examples, a deceased person's family or friends may begeographically distributed far from the memorial location. Arranging atime when all living family members together at the same time are ableto physically visit a deceased relative's grave memorial may be verydifficult.

SUMMARY

Apparatus and associated methods relate to a graveside communicationsdevice exchanging multimedia between a grave and a user's communicationsdevice remote from the grave, activating an energy emitter configured bythe graveside device to physically interact with the grave responsive tothe remote user's activity, and sending to the user's communicationdevice a live indication of the interaction. In an illustrative example,the device at the grave may include a video camera. The user's devicemay be, for example, a smartphone configured to exchange multimedia withthe graveside device. In some examples, the energy emitter may be alaser pointer directed at the grave. The remote user's activity may be,for example, the user's voice captured by the user's smartphonemodulating the laser pointer light. Various examples may advantageouslyprovide graveside telepresence, permitting a user physical interactionwith a grave, and providing live indication of the interaction to theuser.

Various embodiments may achieve one or more advantages. For example,some embodiments may improve a user's ease of access to gravesidememorials. This facilitation may be a result of reducing the user'seffort visiting a graveside memorial in person, based on a gravesidetelepresence device delivering live graveside memorial images and soundto the remote user's mobile device. In some embodiments, the user may beable to physically interact with a graveside memorial through a mobileapp configured in the user's mobile device. Such physical interactionwith a graveside memorial may be a result of a graveside telepresencedevice configured to physically interact with the memorial with a laserpointer or low-frequency audio transducer controlled as a function ofthe user's activity captured by the user's mobile device. In anillustrative example, the physical interaction may include modulatingthe laser pointer illumination as a function of the remote user's voice,providing a live indication in the user's video feed that their voice isreaching the graveside memorial. In some designs, the user's privacyremembering a loved one may be enhanced. Such enhanced user privacy maybe a result of a graveside telepresence device playing the user's voicethrough a low-frequency speaker inaudible to a human at the graveside.Various implementations may provide the user a live laser pointer videoindication their in-audible voice is reaching the grave, based on anenergy detector configured to modulate the laser pointer illumination asa function of sensing the low-frequency audio energy.

Some examples may increase the user's sense of physical presence at agraveside memorial. This facilitation may be a result of a gravesidetelepresence device configured with a moveable laser pointer controlledby the user's mobile device. In an illustrative example, the user mayturn the laser pointer light on or off, or direct the laser pointer todifferent memorial surface locations, and confirm via the user's videofeed that the laser pointer acted consistent with the user input.Various examples may enhance the user's experience remembering theirdeceased loved one. Such enhanced remembrance experience may be a resultof a graveside telepresence device configured to send to the user'smobile device a live indication confirming the user's interaction with agraveside memorial. In an illustrative example, the live interactionindication received by the user's mobile device may include tracking themovement of the laser pointer illumination from a first memorial surfacelocation to a second memorial surface location. Various examples mayanalytically confirm based on object tracking or optical flow algorithmsimplemented in the graveside device that the tracked laser pointerillumination movement was consistent with the user action, and send anindication of the confirmation to the user's mobile device. Such aconfirmation of live interaction based on physical measurement at thememorial may improve the sense of realism associated to a user'sinteraction with a loved one's memorial. Some examples may automaticallygenerate at the mobile device commands causing graveside telepresencedevice laser pointer or audio transducer activity designed to beimperceptible to a human, detect the activity at the graveside memorial,and send a continuous indication to the mobile device of the user'sphysical communication with the memorial. In some scenarios, such acontinuous indication to the mobile device of the user's physicalcommunication with a memorial may improve the user's sense of presenceat the memorial. In certain embodiments, the laser illumination movementon the memorial surface may modulate (e.g., tracing a user-selectedpattern) with the user's voice while being viewable by the user via themobile device to provide confirmation to the user of the liveinteraction (i.e., the user can “see” their voice touching the memorialin real-time). In certain such embodiments, the laser may projectreal-time video of the user speaking from the user's mobile device ontothe memorial, to provide confirmation to the user of the liveinteraction.

The details of various embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative operational scenario wherein a useremploys an exemplary grave time system configured to provide gravesidetelepresence based on a graveside communications device exchangingmultimedia between a grave and a user's communications device remotefrom the grave, activating an energy emitter configured by the gravesidedevice to physically interact with the grave responsive to the remoteuser's activity, and sending to the user's communication device a liveindication of the interaction.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic view of an exemplary network configured toprovide graveside telepresence based on exchanging multimedia between agrave and a user's communications device remote from the grave,activating an energy emitter configured by the graveside device tophysically interact with the grave responsive to the remote user'sactivity, and sending to the user's communication device a liveindication of the interaction.

FIG. 3 depicts a network view of an exemplary graveside telepresenceembodiment implementation.

FIG. 4 depicts a network view of an exemplary distributed gravesidetelepresence embodiment configured with multiple graveside telepresencedevices governed by an exemplary application user interface.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative memorial configured with an exemplarygraveside telepresence device embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative memorial configured with an exemplarygraveside telepresence device camera arm extension embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-7C depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment design in an illustrative memorial-mountedconfiguration.

FIGS. 8A-8B depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment implementation in an illustrative ground-mountedconfiguration.

FIGS. 9A-9C depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment camera design in an illustrative memorial-mountedconfiguration.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative time-lapse video scenario.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative geofencing scenario.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative scheduled music scenario.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary user account camera invitation feature, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary user telepresence time block purchasescenario, in accordance with various graveside telepresence embodimentdesigns.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary multiple user telepresence time blockgifting scenario, in accordance with various graveside telepresenceembodiment designs.

FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative time-lapse photo scenario, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary meditation music library feature, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary fund raising feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative user registration and login scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface flowmap, in accordance with various graveside telepresence embodimentdesigns.

FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative camera add scenario, in accordance with various gravesidetelepresence embodiment designs.

FIGS. 22A-22B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface in an illustrative camera labeling scenario, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary camera lobby feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary camera text sharing feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIGS. 25A-25B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface in an illustrative camera connection scenario, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary live screen feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary live video feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative five minute live video lock scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative additional time purchase scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary diary section feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative diary entry scenario, in accordance with various gravesidetelepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary meditation music section feature, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIGS. 33A-33B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface displaying exemplary settings management features, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIGS. 34A-34C together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface displaying exemplary camera settings management features, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs.

FIG. 35 depicts the top level of an exemplary graveside telepresenceadministrative dashboard user interface flow map, in accordance with theexemplary administrative server 175 depicted by FIG. 1.

FIGS. 36A-36C together depict the User level of the exemplary gravesidetelepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted by FIG. 35.

FIGS. 37A-37C together depict the Camera level of the exemplarygraveside telepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted byFIG. 35.

FIGS. 38A-38C together depict the Analytics level of the exemplarygraveside telepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted byFIG. 35.

FIGS. 39A-39B together depict the IAP (In App Purchase) and Partnerlevels of the exemplary graveside telepresence administrative dashboardflow map depicted by FIG. 35.

FIG. 40 depicts a structural view of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice configured to exchange multimedia between a grave and a user'scommunications device remote from the grave, activate an energy emitterconfigured by the graveside device to physically interact with the graveresponsive to the remote user's activity, and send to the user'scommunication device a live indication of the interaction.

FIG. 41 depicts an exemplary process flow of an embodiment GTME(GraveTime Management Engine).

FIG. 42 depicts a structural view of an exemplary mobile deviceconfigured to physically interact with a memorial, and receive a liveindication of the interaction.

FIG. 43 depicts an exemplary process flow of an embodiment GTIE(GraveTime Interface Engine).

FIG. 44 depicts an exemplary initialization and configuration processflow of an embodiment graveside telepresence device configured toexchange multimedia between a grave and a user's communications deviceremote from the grave.

FIG. 45 depicts various exemplary graveside telepresence deviceembodiment implementation features.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment implementation in an illustrative ground-mountedconfiguration, wherein the main housing is shown installed in securedfashion to the mounting plate.

FIG. 47 is a side view of the exemplary graveside telepresence deviceembodiment implementation of FIG. 46, showing how the main housing maybe installed on the mounting plate and secured thereat by way oforthogonal bi-axial relative movement of the main housing with respectto the mounting plate.

FIG. 48 is a side cross-sectional view of the exemplary gravesidetelepresence device embodiment implementation of FIG. 46.

FIG. 49 is a rear cross-sectional view of the exemplary gravesidetelepresence device embodiment implementation of FIG. 46.

FIG. 50 is an exploded view of the exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment implementation of FIG. 46.

FIG. 51 is a further exploded view of the exemplary gravesidetelepresence device embodiment implementation of FIG. 46.

FIG. 52 is a perspective view of an exemplary multimedia impact moduleof the graveside telepresence device embodiment implementation of FIG.46.

FIG. 53 is an exploded view of an exemplary mounting plate of thegraveside telepresence device embodiment implementation of FIG. 46.

FIG. 54 is a top view of the mounting plate of FIG. 46.

FIG. 55 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 55-55 of FIG. 54,illustrating the anchor bold apertures for use in securing the mountingplate to the ground, and illustrating the center segment of the mountlock assembly for locking the remainder of the graveside telepresencedevice to the mounting plate.

FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 56-56 of FIG. 54,illustrating a lateral segment of the mounting lock assembly for lockingthe remainder of the graveside telepresence device to the mountingplate.

FIG. 57 is a perspective view of a main housing of the telepresencedevice embodiment implementation of FIG. 46. 54, with front and rearsecuring pins shown thereon.

FIG. 58 is a side cross-sectional view of the telepresence deviceembodiment implementation of FIG. 46 in mounted configuration, showing afront securing pin of the main housing in engagement with acorresponding front mounting slot of the mounting plate.

FIG. 59 is a further side cross-sectional view of the telepresencedevice embodiment implementation of FIG. 46, showing the device inmounted and locked configuration with a rear securing pin of the mainhousing in engagement with a corresponding rear mounting slot of themounting plate, and secured thereat by way of a mounting lock assembly.

FIG. 60 is a bottom view of an exemplary embodiment of an exemplaryMountCam-type graveside telepresence device embodiment.

FIG. 61 is a rear view of the MountCam-type graveside telepresencedevice embodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 62 is a side view of the MountCam-type graveside telepresencedevice embodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 63 is a front view of the MountCam-type graveside telepresencedevice embodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 64 is a top view of the MountCam-type graveside telepresence deviceembodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 65 is a perspective view of the MountCam-type gravesidetelepresence device embodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 66 is a further perspective view of the MountCam-type gravesidetelepresence device embodiment of FIG. 60.

FIG. 67 is a partial cross-sectional view of the MountCam-type gravesidetelepresence device embodiment of FIG. 60, illustrating elements of theclamp-mounting subsystem.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

To aid understanding, this document is organized as follows. First,design, operation, and use of various graveside telepresence embodimentimplementations are briefly introduced with reference to FIGS. 1-4.Second, with reference to FIGS. 5-9, the discussion turns to exemplaryembodiments that illustrate graveside telepresence device physicaldesign. Specifically, memorial-mounted and ground-mounted embodimentdesigns are disclosed. Then, with reference to FIGS. 10-18, illustrativescenarios of exemplary graveside telepresence operational transactionsare described. Fourth, with reference to FIGS. 19-39, exemplarygraveside telepresence component user interface designs are disclosed.Finally, exemplary apparatus and process embodiment designs aredisclosed with reference to FIGS. 40-45. Specifically, gravesidetelepresence device and remote interface hardware and executable processembodiment designs are presented to explain improvements in gravesidetelepresence technology.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative operational scenario wherein a useremploys an exemplary grave time system configured to provide gravesidetelepresence based on a graveside communications device exchangingmultimedia between a grave and a user's communications device remotefrom the grave, activating an energy emitter configured by the gravesidedevice to physically interact with the grave responsive to the remoteuser's activity, and sending to the user's communication device a liveindication of the interaction. In the example illustrated by FIG. 1, theuser 103 employs the mobile device 106 to physically interact with thememorial 109, and receive a live indication of the interaction. In theillustrated example, the mobile device 106 is configured with theexemplary user interface 112. In the depicted example, the userinterface 112 includes a mobile app configured to permit a mobile device106 user to physically interact with the memorial 109 and receive a liveindication of the interaction. In an illustrative example, a mobiledevice 106 user may physically interact with the memorial 109 via useraction captured by the user interface 112. In the depicted example, theuser 103 receives through the user interface 112 a live indication ofthe user's physical interaction with the memorial 109. In theillustrated example, the memorial 109 is configured with the exemplarygraveside telepresence device 115. In the depicted example, the mobiledevice 106 is operably and communicatively coupled with the gravesidetelepresence device 115 via the network cloud 118. In the illustratedexample, the wireless access point 121 operably and communicativelycouples the graveside telepresence device 115 with the network cloud118. In the depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115includes the multimedia impact module 124. In the illustratedembodiment, the multimedia impact module 124 is movably secured by theflexible arm mount 127 to the memorial 109. In the depicted embodiment,the multimedia impact module 124 includes the laser pointer 130. In theillustrated embodiment, the laser pointer 130 is a laser emitterconfigured to emit focused light energy. In the depicted embodiment, themultimedia impact module 124 also includes the audio transducer 133. Inthe depicted embodiment, the audio transducer 133 is a low-frequencyspeaker, configured to emit sound energy constrained to a frequencyrange below the lower limit of the human-audible frequency range,wherein the sound energy emitted is not audible by a human when theaudio transducer is activated. In some embodiments, the audio transducermay be an ultrasonic speaker configured to emit sound energy constrainedto a frequency range above the upper limit of the human-audiblefrequency range, wherein the sound energy emitted is not audible by ahuman when the audio transducer is activated. In the depictedembodiment, the multimedia impact module 124 includes a video camera anda microphone. In the illustrated example, the mobile device 106 includesa video camera and a microphone. In the illustrated example, the mobiledevice 106 video camera captures light energy 136 reflected from theuser 103. In the illustrated example, the mobile device 106 microphonecaptures sound energy 139 emitted by the user 103 vocal tract as theuser 103 speaks. In the depicted example, the light energy 136 capturedby the mobile device 106 video camera and the sound energy 139 capturedby the mobile device 106 microphone are encoded by the mobile device 106in user multimedia 142. In various embodiments, the user multimedia 142may include raw or encoded data organized in a frame, packet, or stream.In the illustrated example, the mobile device 106 sends the usermultimedia 142 to the graveside telepresence device 115. In the depictedembodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 receives the usermultimedia 142 from the mobile device 106. In an illustrative example,the mobile device 106 may send the user multimedia 142 to a back endserver, or to a cloud database, for authentication, billing,identification, signal processing, encoding, or logging. In someexamples, the graveside telepresence device 115 may play the usermultimedia 142 through a media player operable at the memorial 109. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresence device plays theuser multimedia 142 audio through the audio transducer 133. In thedepicted embodiment, the audio transducer 133 emits the user multimedia142 audio as sound energy 145 directed to the memorial 109. In theillustrated embodiment, the sound energy 145 includes the user 103 voiceenergy at a frequency range below the lower limit of the human-audiblefrequency range. In the illustrated example, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 advantageously enhances the privacy of user 103 by emittingthe user 103 voice energy in a frequency range not audible by a humanwithin hearing distance of the memorial 109. In some embodiments, thelaser light emitted by the laser pointer 130 may be governed as afunction of the user multimedia 142 audio received by the gravesidetelepresence device 115. For example, the graveside telepresence device115 may modulate the laser pointer 130 illumination as a function of theenergy, pitch period, or frequency range of the user 103 voice energy.In some designs, the user 103 may advantageously receive a live videostream from the graveside telepresence device 115 indicating the user103 vocal energy modulating the laser pointer 130, enhancing the user'sawareness of physical interaction with the memorial 109. In anillustrative example, the graveside telepresence device 115 may modulatethe laser pointer 130 illumination based on the user 103 voice energybefore or after shifting or compressing the vocal energy to a rangeconformant with the range of the audio transducer 133. In some examples,the mobile device 106 may frequency shift, or compress, the vocal energyspectrum before sending the user multimedia 142 audio to the gravesidetelepresence device 115. In the depicted example, the user 103 mobiledevice 106 user interface 112 is configured to capture user 103 actiongoverning the direction of the laser pointer 130. In an illustrativeexample, the user 103 may tap a user selectable icon configured in theuser interface 112 that represents the direction of the laser pointer130 with respect to a memorial 109 surface. In some embodiments, theuser selectable icon representing the direction of the laser pointer 130may be displayed in the user interface 112. In the illustratedembodiment, the user 103 may drag the selected icon representing thedirection of the laser pointer 130 to direct the laser pointer 130 to adifferent location with respect to a memorial 109 surface. In theillustrated embodiment, the mobile device 106 captures the user 103action dragging the icon representing the direction of the laser pointer130, and generates user command 147. In the depicted embodiment, theuser command includes data configured to direct the gravesidetelepresence device 115 to change the laser pointer 130 direction withrespect to a memorial 109 surface. In the depicted embodiment, themobile device 106 sends the user command 147 to the gravesidetelepresence device. In the illustrated example, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 receives the user command 147 from the mobiledevice 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 is configured to independently move the laser pointerseparate from the flexible arm mount 127 positioning of the multimediaimpact module 124. In some embodiments, the laser pointer 130 may beconfigured with an independent pan and tilt control governed as afunction of user command 147 received by the graveside telepresencedevice 115. In the depicted embodiment the laser pointer 130 isinitially positioned to direct the laser beam 149 to a first location onthe memorial 109. In the illustrated example, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 moves the laser pointer 130 in response to the user command147 to direct the laser beam 151 to a second location on the memorial109. In the depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115multimedia impact module 124 video camera captures video of the laserpointer 130 laser beam reflection from the memorial 109. In theillustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 employsobject tracking as a function of the captured video to confirm the laserpointer 130 movement conformed to the user 103 action captured by theuser interface 112. In the illustrated example, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 tracks the laser pointer 130 laser beam movementbased on object tracking analysis of captured video depicting the laserpointer 130 reflection 154 at the first location on the memorial 109, tothe laser pointer 130 reflection 157 at the second location on thememorial 109. In some examples, the graveside telepresence device 115may track the laser pointer 130 movement based on optical flow as afunction of the captured video. In the depicted embodiment, thegraveside telepresence device 115 generates graveside telepresenceindication 160 which includes an indication the graveside telepresencedevice 115 independently confirmed the laser pointer movement conformedwith the user 103 action captured by the user interface 103. In theillustrated example, the mobile device 106 receives the gravesidetelepresence indication 160 from the graveside telepresence device 115,thereby advantageously enhancing the user 103 experience interactingwith the memorial 109 based on independently confirming the interactionas a function of data collected and processed at the memorial 109. Inthe depicted embodiment, the mobile device 106 presents the gravesidetelepresence indication 160 to the user 103 through the mobile device106 user interface 112. In the depicted example, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 multimedia impact module 124 video cameracaptures images of the memorial 109. In the illustrated example, thegraveside telepresence device multimedia impact module 124 microphonecaptures audio from the memorial 109 environment. In the depictedembodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 encodes the audio andvideo captured by the multimedia impact module 124 in gravesidemultimedia 163. In various embodiments, the graveside multimedia 163 mayinclude raw or encoded data organized in a frame, packet, or stream. Inthe illustrated example, the graveside telepresence device 115 sends thegraveside multimedia 163 to the mobile device 106. In the depictedembodiment, the mobile device 106 receives the graveside multimedia 163from the graveside telepresence device 115. In an illustrative example,the graveside telepresence device 115 may send the graveside multimedia163 to a back end server, or to a cloud database, for authentication,billing, identification, signal processing, encoding, or logging. In theillustrated embodiment, the mobile device 106 presents the gravesidemultimedia 163 to the user 103 through the mobile device 106 userinterface 112. In the depicted example, the mobile device 106 user 103authenticates access to the graveside telepresence device 115 via theaccount management server 166 operably and communicatively coupled withthe network cloud 118. In the illustrated example, the accountmanagement server 166 includes account registration database 169. In thedepicted example, the account registration database includes user andmemorial profile data such as identification, contact information, andmemorial registration information. In the depicted example, the accountmanagement server 166 includes the account media database 172. In anillustrative example, the account media database may be a repository ofmultimedia captured at a memorial, or stock media clips offered tovisitors or users through the disclosed telepresence facilities. Invarious examples, the account management server 166 may be locallyhosted near a site with many memorials, to serve data facilitatingaccount and media access to the telepresence facilities provided to thememorials on site. In the depicted example, the illustrated gravesidetelepresence network operation is governed via the administrative server175. In the depicted embodiment, the administrative server 175 includesthe site registration database 178. In an illustrative example, the siteregistration database 178 may provide access to authentication andregistration data supporting payment for and use of gravesidetelepresence networks by multiple memorial sites. In the depictedexample, the administrative server 175 also includes the global memorialmedia database 181. In the illustrated embodiment, the global memorialmedia database 181 facilitates storage and retrieval of media generatedby memorial visitors.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic view of an exemplary network configured toprovide graveside telepresence based on exchanging multimedia between agrave and a user's communications device remote from the grave,activating an energy emitter configured by the graveside device tophysically interact with the grave responsive to the remote user'sactivity, and sending to the user's communication device a liveindication of the interaction. In FIG. 2, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure, data may be transferred to thesystem, stored by the system and/or transferred by the system to usersof the system across local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks(WANs). In accordance with various embodiments, the system may includenumerous servers, data mining hardware, computing devices, or anycombination thereof, communicatively connected across one or more LANsand/or WANs. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatthere are numerous manners in which the system could be configured, andembodiments of the present disclosure are contemplated for use with anyconfiguration. Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic overview of a system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In thedepicted embodiment, an exemplary system includes the exemplarygraveside telepresence device 115 configured to exchange multimediabetween a grave and a user's communications device remote from thegrave, physically interact with the grave responsive to the remoteuser's activity, and send to the user's communication device a liveindication of the interaction. In the illustrated embodiment, the user'smobile device 106 is a smartphone configured to exchange multimediabetween a mobile device 106 user and the graveside telepresence device115, control the graveside telepresence device 115 physical interactionwith the grave, and receive a live indication of the interaction. In thedepicted embodiment, the account management server 166 is a computingdevice configured to authenticate user access to the gravesidetelepresence device 115. In the depicted example, the administrativeserver 175 is a computing device configured with an administrativedatabase governing payment for and use of multiple gravesidetelepresence networks. In the illustrated embodiment, the mobile device106 is communicatively and operably coupled by the wireless access point201 and the wireless link 202 with the network cloud 118 (e.g., theInternet) to send, retrieve, or manipulate information in storagedevices, servers, and network components, and exchange information withvarious other systems and devices via the network cloud 118. In thedepicted example, the illustrative system includes the router 203configured to communicatively and operably couple the account managementserver 166 to the network cloud 118 via the communication link 204. Inthe illustrated example, the router 205 communicatively and operablycouples the administrative server 175 to the network cloud 118 via thecommunication link 206. In the depicted embodiment, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 is communicatively and operably coupled with thenetwork cloud 118 by the wireless access point 207 and the wirelesscommunication link 208. In various examples, one or more of: the mobiledevice 106, the graveside telepresence device 115, the accountmanagement server 166, or the administrative server 175 may include anapplication server configured to store or provide access to informationused by the system. In various embodiments, one or more applicationserver may retrieve or manipulate information in storage devices andexchange information through the network cloud 118. In some examples,one or more of: the mobile device 106, the graveside telepresence device115, the account management server 166, or the administrative server 175may include various applications implemented as processor-executableprogram instructions. In some embodiments, various processor-executableprogram instruction applications may also be used to manipulateinformation stored remotely and process and analyze data stored remotelyacross the network cloud 118 (e.g., the Internet). According to anexemplary embodiment, as illustrated by FIG. 2, exchange of informationthrough the network cloud 118 or other network may occur through one ormore high speed connections. In some cases, high speed connections maybe over-the-air (OTA), passed through networked systems, directlyconnected to one or more network cloud 118 or directed through one ormore router. In various implementations, one or more router may beoptional, and other embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure may or may not utilize one or more router. One of ordinaryskill in the art would appreciate that there are numerous ways any orall of the depicted devices may connect with the network cloud 118 forthe exchange of information, and embodiments of the present disclosureare contemplated for use with any method for connecting to networks forthe purpose of exchanging information. Further, while this applicationmay refer to high speed connections, embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be utilized with connections of any useful speed. In anillustrative example, components or modules of the system may connect toone or more of: the mobile device 106, the graveside telepresence device115, the account management server 166, or the administrative server 175via the network cloud 118 or other network in numerous ways. Forinstance, a component or module may connect to the system i) through acomputing device directly connected to the network cloud 118, ii)through a computing device connected to the network cloud 118 through arouting device, or iii) through a computing device connected to awireless access point. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat there are numerous ways that a component or module may connect to adevice via network cloud 118 or other network, and embodiments of thepresent disclosure are contemplated for use with any network connectionmethod. In various examples, one or more of: the mobile device 106, thegraveside telepresence device 115, the account management server 166, orthe administrative server 175 could include a personal computing device,such as a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computing device,cloud-based computing device, virtual computing device, or desktopcomputing device, configured to operate as a host for other computingdevices to connect to. In some examples, one or more communicationsmeans of the system may be any circuitry or other means forcommunicating data over one or more networks or to one or moreperipheral devices attached to the system, or to a system module orcomponent. Appropriate communications means may include, but are notlimited to, wireless connections, wired connections, cellularconnections, data port connections, Bluetooth® connections, near fieldcommunications (NFC) connections, or any combination thereof. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there are numerouscommunications means that may be utilized with embodiments of thepresent disclosure, and embodiments of the present disclosure arecontemplated for use with any communications means.

FIG. 3 depicts a network view of an exemplary graveside telepresenceembodiment implementation. In FIG. 3, the exemplary mobile device 106includes the user interface 112 implemented as an embodiment GraveTimeApp. In the depicted embodiment, the exemplary GraveTime App permits auser to physically interact with the grave memorial 109 via thegraveside telepresence device 115. In various embodiments, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 may include a camera. In some embodiments, thecamera may be configured with an adjustable mount. Some gravesidetelepresence device 115 embodiments may include an infrared (IR) light.In an illustrative example, various graveside telepresence device 115implementation designs may include a laser pointer and speakerconfigured to permit a remote user to physically interact with thememorial 109. Some graveside telepresence device 115 embodiments mayinclude a microphone adapted to capture sound at the memorial, enablingthe user to listen via the user interface 112 to sounds near thememorial. In the illustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 is communicatively and operably coupled with the userinterface 112 via the network cloud 118. In the illustrated example, theuser computing devices 305 and the mobile device 106 are communicativelycoupled with the network cloud through the user local network connection310 and the user internet service provider 315. In some embodiments, anyof the user computing devices 305 may be configured with an embodimentGraveTime App implemented in, for example, a mobile, tablet, laptop, ordesktop application configuration appropriate to the respective devicetype. In the depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115is communicatively and operably coupled with the network cloud 118through the graveside internet service provider 320 and the gravesidelocal network connection 325. In various embodiments, the gravesidelocal network connection 325 may include, for example, 4G LTE, or WiFi.In the illustrated example, the solar panel 330 operably powers thegraveside telepresence device 115 based on energy from the sun 335. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the power supplied through the solar panel330 to the graveside telepresence device 115 permits a mobile device 106user to receive live indication of the user's physical interaction withthe memorial 109 without dependency on an artificial source of power atthe memorial 109 site.

FIG. 4 depicts a network view of an exemplary distributed gravesidetelepresence embodiment configured with multiple graveside telepresencedevices governed by an exemplary application user interface. In FIG. 4,the exemplary distributed graveside telepresence network 400 includesthe embodiment GraveTime App implemented in the user interface 112. Invarious embodiments, the depicted GraveTime App may be hosted on amobile device, a tablet, laptop, desktop computer, or a cloud server. Inan illustrative example, the depicted GraveTime App may be implementedas a cloud service accessible via a web application from various typesof devices or applications. The illustrative graveside telepresencenetwork 400 includes graveside telepresence device 115 embodimentimplementations in exemplary GraveCam configurations. In the depictedembodiment, the exemplary GraveTime App is communicatively and operablycoupled via the depicted network structures with the depicted gravesidetelepresence device 115 GraveCam systems. In the illustrated example,the depicted GraveTime App is communicatively and operably coupled withthe exemplary GraveCam 115 a, 115 b, 115 c systems through the firstnetwork including the 4G LTE network 405 and the network cloud 118 a. Inthe depicted embodiment, the illustrated GraveTime App iscommunicatively and operably coupled with the exemplary GraveCam 115 d,115 e, 115 f, 115 g systems through the second network including theEthernet LAN/WiFi network 410 and the network cloud 118 b. In theillustrated embodiment, the depicted GraveTime App is communicativelyand operably coupled with the exemplary GraveCam 115 h, 115 i, 115 jsystems through the third network including the satellite network 415and the network cloud 118 c. In the depicted example, the illustratedGraveTime App is communicatively and operably coupled with the exemplaryGraveCam 115 k, 115 l, 115 m systems through the fourth networkincluding the 5G network 420 and the network cloud 118 d.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative memorial configured with an exemplarygraveside telepresence device embodiment. In FIG. 5, the exemplarymemorial 109 is configured with the embodiment graveside telepresencedevice 115 illustrated in an exemplary memorial-mounted configuration.In some examples, the graveside telepresence device 115 may be mountedto the memorial 109 using a spring-loaded head stone mount. In theillustrated example, the depicted graveside telepresence device 115includes the multimedia impact module 124. In the depicted embodiment,the multimedia impact module 124 is movably coupled with the gravesidetelepresence device 115 by the flexible arm mount 127. In someembodiments, the flexible arm mount 127 may include a goose-neckadjustable arm. In the illustrated embodiment, the multimedia impactmodule 124 includes the laser pointer 130, the audio transducer 133, andthe camera 505. The depicted multimedia impact module 124 is attached tothe flexible arm mount 127 by the connector 510. In the depictedexample, the multimedia impact module 124 also includes the microphone515. The illustrated embodiment graveside telepresence device 115includes the solar panel 330 configured to provide power to thegraveside telepresence device 115 in various scenarios.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative memorial configured with an exemplarygraveside telepresence device camera arm extension embodiment. In FIG.6, the exemplary memorial 109 is configured with the embodimentgraveside telepresence device 115 illustrated in an exemplarymemorial-mounted configuration. In some examples, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 may be mounted to the memorial 109 using aspring-loaded head stone mount. In the illustrated example, the depictedgraveside telepresence device 115 includes the multimedia impact module124. In the depicted embodiment, the multimedia impact module 124 ismovably coupled with the graveside telepresence device 115 by theflexible arm mount 127. In some embodiments, the flexible arm mount 127may include a goose-neck adjustable arm. In the illustrated embodiment,the multimedia impact module 124 includes the laser pointer 130, theaudio transducer 133, and the camera 505. The depicted multimedia impactmodule 124 is attached to the flexible arm mount 127 by the connector510. In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible arm mount 127 isconfigured with the exemplary arm extension assembly 605 to provideincreased range of access to the memorial 109 surface by the multimediaimpact module 124. In an illustrative example, the increased range ofaccess to the memorial 109 surface may be advantageous with largermemorials in various scenarios. In the depicted example, the armextension assembly 605 includes the arm extender 610 removably securedby the arm extension connector 615. In some examples, the arm extensionconnector 615 may include a lock configured to secure the multimediaimpact module 124 against theft. In the depicted example, the multimediaimpact module 124 also includes the microphone 515. The illustratedembodiment graveside telepresence device 115 includes the solar panel330 configured to provide power to the graveside telepresence device 115in various scenarios. Some embodiments may include multiple arm extender610 sections coupled by arm extension connector 615 embodimentsconfigured with mixed-gender attachments, permitting extension toarbitrary lengths adaptive to various memorial 109 sizes.

FIGS. 7A-7C depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment design in an illustrative memorial-mountedconfiguration. In FIG. 7A, the illustrated graveside telepresence device115 installation top view depicts the multimedia impact module 124offset from the memorial 109 front surface by the flexible arm mount127. In FIG. 7B, the depicted graveside telepresence device 115installation front view illustrates the multimedia impact module 124suspended from the graveside telepresence device 115 in front of thememorial 109 front surface by the flexible arm mount 127. In FIG. 7C,the illustrated graveside telepresence device 115 installation side viewillustrates the multimedia impact module 124 displaced from thegraveside telepresence device 115 memorial 109 front surface by theflexible arm mount 127.

FIGS. 8A-8B depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment implementation in an illustrative ground-mountedconfiguration. In FIG. 8A, the depicted graveside telepresence device115 GroundCam embodiment implementation side view includes themultimedia impact module 124 and the solar panel 330. In the depictedembodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 GroundCam side viewillustrates an exemplary ground-mounted installation configuration. Inthe depicted example, the graveside telepresence device 115 GroundCam isconfigured for installation to the mounting plate 805. In theillustrated embodiment, the mounting plate 805 is configured to anchorthe graveside telepresence device 115 GroundCam to the ground. In thedepicted example, the GroundCam front securing pin 810 is configured tosecurely engage the front mounting slot 815, and the GroundCam rearsecuring pin 820 is configured to securely engage the rear mounting slot825. In FIG. 8B, the graveside telepresence device 115 GroundCam frontview illustrates an exemplary ground-mounted installation configuration.In the depicted embodiment, the camera 505 included in the multimediaimpact module 124 is visible from the front of the gravesidetelepresence device 115 GroundCam. In the illustrated embodiment, theGroundCam front securing pins 810 are configured to securely engage thefront mounting slots 815. In some embodiments, the mounting plate 805may be configured with a lock adapted to secure the gravesidetelepresence device 115 GroundCam to the mounting plate 805, to detertheft.

FIGS. 46-51 depict various views of one exemplary telepresence device115 implementation in a ground-mounted configuration, and illustrateadditional details relating to how the device 115 may preferably bemounted to the ground 822 by way of a mounting plate 805. Certainpreferred embodiments of a ground-mountable telepresence device 115 mayinclude a main housing 850 with a front panel 852 and removable rearcover 854. One or more anchor bolts 824 may be provided and configuredto extend through corresponding anchor bolt apertures 826 in themounting plate 805 and into the ground 822, thus affixing the mountingplate 805 to the ground 822. FIGS. 53-59 depict additional details of anexemplary mounting plate 805 for use with a ground-mountable embodimentof a telepresence device 115. In particular, a mounting lock assembly830 is shown incorporated into the mounting plate 805. A mounting lockassembly 830 may be configured to move between a locked and unlockedconfiguration. Referring to FIG. 59, when in the locked configuration,the mounting lock assembly 830 is configured to retain the rear securingpins 820 in their respective rear mounting slots 825 by, for example,blocking rearward movement of the rear securing pins 820 with respect tothe mounting plate 805. When in an unlocked configuration, the mountinglock assembly is configured to allow the rear securing pins 820 to beremoved from their respective rear mounting slots 825. A mounting lockassembly 830 may preferably include an elongated buckle element 832, apressure plate 834, one or more spring elements 836 disposedtherebetween, and a plum blossom lock (or the like) 838. The pressureplate 834 may be rigidly affixed to the mounting plate 805. The buckleelement 832 is transportable between a locking position and an unlockingposition. When in the unlocking position, the elongated buckle element832 is closer to the pressure plate 834 than in the locking position.Transport of the elongated buckle element 832 to its locking positionresults in the mounting lock assembly 830 being in the lockingconfiguration. The elongated buckle element 832 is resiliently biasedtoward the locking position by way of the spring elements 836. Thisresilient bias is configured to be overcome by movement of the plumblossom lock 838 from a lock orientation to an unlock orientation.

FIGS. 9A-9C depict various views of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice embodiment camera design in an illustrative memorial-mountedconfiguration. In FIG. 9A, the depicted front view of the gravesidetelepresence device 115 MountCam embodiment includes the solar panel330. In the depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115MountCam includes the multimedia impact module 124. In the illustratedexample, the graveside telepresence device 115 MountCam is mounted tothe memorial 109 by a hardware fixing bracket and expansion screw. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the multimedia impact module 124 includesthe camera 505 and the audio transducer 133. In FIG. 9B, the depictedmultimedia impact module 124 is movably coupled with the gravesidetelepresence device 115 MountCam by the adjustable bracket 905. In FIG.9C, the depicted camera 505 includes the laser pointer 130, audiotransducer 133, microphone 515, work indicator lamp 910, and infraredlight 915. Referring to FIG. 60, certain telepresence devices 115 mayinclude a 12V charging port 840 and may include a TransFlash (TF) card842 or the like.

FIGS. 60-67 depict various views of one exemplary embodiment of agraveside telepresence device 115 configured to be mounted to a memorialby way of a spring-clamping subassembly. The spring-clamping subassemblymay include one or more spring-loaded clamp jaws 844. Each spring-loadedclamp jaw 844 may be movable along respective clamp grooves 845 betweena clamping and an unclamping position. One or more static clamp jaws 846may be rigidly affixed to the housing of the device 115. One or moreclamp springs 847 may spring bias corresponding spring-loaded clamp jaws844 toward their clamping position. When a spring-loaded clamp jaw is inits clamping position, it is closer to its corresponding static clampjaw 846 then when it is in its unclamping position. Accordingly,Referring to FIG. 67, each spring-loaded clamp jaw 844 is configured togenerate a clamping force 848 between the spring-loaded clamp jaw 844and its corresponding status clamp jaw 846. This clamping force 848 isconfigured to clampingly secure the device 115 to the memorial 109.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative time-lapse video scenario. In FIG. 10, the depictedembodiment graveside telepresence device 115 is scheduled to take threesingle images per day. In the illustrated example, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 is scheduled to send push notification 1005 onceper day to the embodiment GraveTime App configured in the mobile device106 user interface 112. In the depicted embodiment, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 is configured to take images at the firstscheduled time 1010 of 9:00 AM, the second scheduled time 1015 of 12:00PM, and the third scheduled time 1020 of 17:00 PM. In some embodiments,the graveside telepresence device 115 may send the push notification1005 to the GraveTime App once per day after the last scheduled image iscaptured. In various designs, more than one push notification 1005 maybe queued and sent on demand, or on a user-configurable schedule. In theillustrated embodiment, the images are transferred via the pushnotification 1005 to the GraveTime App diary when the GraveTime Appconnects. In the depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device115 sends the push notification 1005 to the GraveTime App through thegraveside internet service provider 320 and the network cloud 118 to theuser internet service provider 315.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative geofencing scenario. In FIG. 11, the exemplary gravesidetelepresence device 115 is configured with a geofence to deter theft andvandalism, and provide user notification in the event the gravesidetelepresence device 115 is moved or stolen. In the depicted example, GPSsatellite 1105 data including the graveside telepresence device 115 GPSlocation 1110 is saved during the setup process on the GraveTime Appconfigured in the mobile device 106 user interface 112. In theillustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 GPSlocation 1110 is saved on the graveside telepresence device 115 SD card1115. In the depicted example, the graveside telepresence device 115sends the GPS location 1110 to the GraveTime App via the user internetservice provider 315. In the illustrated embodiment, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 checks the current GPS location every fiveminutes. In the depicted example, if the current graveside telepresencedevice 115 GPS location does not equal the saved GPS location 1110, thegraveside telepresence device 115 sends push notification 1005 to theGraveTime App configured in the user's mobile device 106 user interface112. In various designs, the push notification 1005 may include thecurrent graveside telepresence device 115 GPS location. In someembodiments, the geofence notification may be sent via SMS. In variousimplementations, the geofence notification may be triggered only if thegraveside telepresence device 115 GPS location does not equal the savedlocation within a safe area tolerance. In various designs, the safe areamay be configurable to avoid false alarms. In an illustrative example,the geofence notification may be deactivated to permit maintenance. Invarious implementations, the geofence safe area may be adapted toenforce various areas based on a schedule, to permit, for example,embodiment graveside telepresence device 115 movement to variousmemorials within a facility without triggering a geofence notification.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative scheduled music scenario. In FIG. 12, the embodimentGraveTime App configured in the mobile device 106 user interface 112configures the exemplary graveside telepresence device 115 to play thesong 1205 on the graveside telepresence device 115 according to theschedule 1210. In the illustrated example, the schedule 1210 includesthe first scheduled time and date 1215 and the second scheduled time anddate 1230. In the depicted embodiment, the GraveTime App sends the song1205 to the graveside telepresence device 115 through the user internetservice provider 315. In the illustrated embodiment, the gravesidetelepresence device 115 stores the song 1205 to the SD card 1115. In thedepicted example, the song 1205 stored on the graveside telepresencedevice 115 SD card 1115 will be played based on a scheduled time, andnot streamed. In the illustrated example, the GraveTime App does notneed to be connected for the graveside telepresence device 115 to playthe song 1205. In various examples, the song 1205 may be an audio datafile in MP3 format. In the depicted embodiment, a GraveTime App userconfigures the graveside telepresence device 115 to play the song 1205from the SD card 1115 at the first scheduled time and date 1215 on thegraveside telepresence device 115 media player 1220. In the depictedexample, the song 1205 is played through the graveside telepresencedevice 115 speaker 1225 according to the first scheduled time and date1215. In the illustrated embodiment, the graveside telepresence device115 sends push notification 1005 through the user internet serviceprovider 315 to the GraveTime App configured in the mobile device 106user interface 112, to confirm the song 1205 was played at the firstscheduled time and date 1215. In the illustrated embodiment, theGraveTime App user configures the graveside telepresence device 115 toplay the song 1205 from the SD card 1115 at the second scheduled timeand date 1230 on the graveside telepresence device 115 media player1220. In the depicted example, the song 1205 is played through thegraveside telepresence device 115 speaker 1225 according to the secondscheduled time and date 1230. In the illustrated embodiment, thegraveside telepresence device 115 sends push notification 1005 throughthe user internet service provider 315 to the GraveTime App configuredin the mobile device 106 user interface 112, to confirm the song 1205was played at the second scheduled time and date 1230.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary user account camera invitation feature, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. InFIG. 13, the exemplary GraveTime user account 1305 includes the OwnerID1310. In the depicted example, the account 1305 OwnerID 1310 is themaster account. In the illustrated example, the account 1305 includesfour additional users Guest1ID 1315, Guest2ID 1320, and Guest3ID 1325.In the illustrated account example, the master account OwnerID 1310 mayadd optional additional accounts, based on increasing the monthlysubscription by a predetermined amount per additional account added. Insome examples, the monthly subscription may be increased by a variableamount determined as a function of the number of accounts controlled bythe master account OwnerID 1310. In the illustrated embodiment, themaster account OwnerID 1310 has added the optional additional accountsGuest4ID 1330, Guest5ID 1335, and Guest6ID 1340.

FIG. 14 depicts an exemplary user telepresence time block purchasescenario, in accordance with various graveside telepresence embodimentdesigns. In FIG. 14, an exemplary GraveTime App user wishes to purchasea time block for extra view time. In the depicted example, the userinitiates an in-app time block purchase through the GraveTime Appimplemented in the embodiment user interface 112. In the depictedexample, the user completes the successful app store transaction 1405for the time block using the GraveTime App. In the illustratedembodiment, the additional time block purchased through the app store iscredited to the user's account in the account management server 166. Inthe depicted example, the extra view time from the purchased time blockis available to the user's account, and the user is connected until theextra view time is exhausted.

FIG. 15 depicts an exemplary multiple user telepresence time blockgifting scenario, in accordance with various graveside telepresenceembodiment designs. In FIG. 15, user A wishes to purchase a viewing timegift code for user B. In the illustrated example, user B's account hasno live time available, and user B needs to either purchase a timeblock, or use a gift code. In the depicted example, user A employs theembodiment GraveTime App user interface 112 a, and user B employs theembodiment GraveTime App user interface 112 b. In the illustratedexample, user A initiates the gift purchase through the successful appstore transaction 1405 for the viewing time gift code. In the depictedexample, the account management server 166 generates the new gift codefor the camera account upon the successful app store transaction 1405.In the illustrated embodiment, the account management server 166 sendsthe generated gift code to user A in the GraveTime App user interface112 a. Upon receipt of the gift code purchased by user A, the GraveTimeApp user interface 112 a opens user A's default email with the new giftcode, plus an email message template body and subject text. In thedepicted scenario, user A may enter the guest user B's email address,and initiate sending the email to user B. In the illustrated example,user B enters the valid gift code received from user A in the GraveTimeApp user interface 112 b. In the depicted embodiment, the GraveTime Appuser interface 112 b sends the gift code to the account managementserver 166. In the illustrated example, the account management server166 credits user B's account with the gifted viewing time purchased byuser A. In the depicted example, user B is connected via the GraveTimeApp user interface 112 b to the exemplary graveside telepresence device115 for live extra view time. In the illustrated embodiment, if user B'sviewing time exceeds the extra view time, user B's viewing will berestricted.

FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence device embodiment inan illustrative time-lapse photo scenario, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 16, the depictedembodiment graveside telepresence device 115 is scheduled to take threesingle images per day, storing the images on the SD card 1115 andpushing the images to a server in the network cloud 118. In theillustrated example, the graveside telepresence device 115 is scheduledto send a local push notification once per day to the embodimentGraveTime App configured in the mobile device 106 user interface 112. Inthe depicted embodiment, the graveside telepresence device 115 isconfigured to take images at the first scheduled time 1605 of 9:00 AM,the second scheduled time 1610 of 12:00 PM, and the third scheduled time1615 of 17:00 PM. In some embodiments, the graveside telepresence device115 may send the push notification to the GraveTime App once per dayafter the last scheduled image is captured. In various designs, morethan one push notification may be queued and sent on demand, or on auser-configurable schedule. In the illustrated embodiment, the imagesare transferred via the push notification to the GraveTime App diarywhen the GraveTime App connects. In the depicted embodiment, thegraveside telepresence device 115 sends the push notification to theGraveTime App through the network cloud 118 and the user internetservice provider 315. In an illustrative example, each camera owner useraccount should have a unique share URL for the time-lapse photos.

FIG. 17 depicts an exemplary meditation music library feature, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. InFIG. 17, the depicted embodiment GraveTime App configured in the userinterface 112 checks the account management server 166 for availablemusic to download from the available music library maintained by theadministrative server 175. In the illustrated example, the accountmanagement server 166 updates the music list in the GraveTime App.

FIG. 18 depicts an exemplary fund-raising feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 18, a user ofthe exemplary graveside telepresence device 115 initiates an in-apppurchase of a viewing time block through the embodiment GraveTime Appconfigured in the exemplary user interface 112. In the depicted example,upon the successful app store purchase 1405, the viewing time block iscredited to the user's account in the account management server 166. Inthe illustrated example, the non-profit/partner account revenue 1805 iscalculated and credited to the partner's account in the accountmanagement server 166. In the depicted embodiment, the availablecommercial time is added, and the user is connected to the gravesidetelepresence device 115 until the viewing time exceeds the commercialtime. In an illustrative example, if the camera is set topublic/commercial, ad-hoc time block in app purchase is availablewithout an invitation from a primary user.

FIG. 19 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative user registration and login scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 19, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112includes the splash screen 1905. In various examples, the splash screen1905 may be displayed upon launch of an embodiment GraveTime App towelcome a user. In some examples, the splash screen 1905 may be adaptedwith branding tailored to a specific memorial site. In the depictedexample, the GraveTime App includes the login screen 1910 configured topermit the user to authenticate to the GraveTime system, register a newaccount, or initiate recovery from a forgotten password scenario. In thedepicted example, the login screen 1910 includes a control configured toactivate or deactivate an automatic login feature. In the illustratedembodiment, the GraveTime App registration screen 1915 permits the userto create a new GraveTime account based on providing a valid emailaddress and confirming a new password.

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface flowmap, in accordance with various graveside telepresence embodimentdesigns. In FIG. 20, the exemplary graveside telepresence user interfaceflow map depicts the menu layout and functional organization of anexemplary GraveTime App configured in an exemplary user interface 112,illustrated at least in FIGS. 19-34. In various examples, an embodimentGraveTime App implementation may be advantageously adapted to facilitategraveside telepresence through any of a user's mobile device, tablet,laptop, web application, command shell, or desktop computer userinterface environments.

FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative camera add scenario, in accordance with various gravesidetelepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 21, the exemplary GraveTime Appconfigured in the exemplary user interface 112 includes the camera addmenu 2105. In the depicted example, the camera add menu 2105 is thefirst scene for a user after the user registers. In the illustratedexample, the user may only add a new 4G camera. In various embodiments,a dynamic link may be provided to share the camera. In the depictedembodiment, the user may automatically add a camera based on scanningthe smart code, or the user may select manual setup. In the depictedexample, the manual camera setup screen 2110 permits the user to entertheir camera details.

FIGS. 22A-22B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface in an illustrative camera labeling scenario, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 22A, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112includes the camera label start screen 2205. In the depicted example, auser may enter a text label for their camera. In an illustrativeexample, the camera label entered by the user may associate the camerawith the deceased person's name or relationship with the user. In theillustrated example, the user has entered the camera label “Grandpa.” Invarious embodiments, the user may be able to customize the camera labeldisplay font. In the depicted embodiment, the photo upload screen 2210permits the user to add a photo representative of the camera associatedto the deceased person. In FIG. 22B, the exemplary GraveTime Appconfigured in the exemplary user interface 112 includes the photo cropscreen 2215 permitting the user to optionally adjust the borders of thedeceased person's photo. In the depicted embodiment, the user mayoptionally adjust the photo scale in the photo scale screen 2220. In theillustrated example, the user-customized camera label is presented tothe user in the camera label screen 2225, and the GraveTime App takesthe user to the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230 screen. In the depictedembodiment, the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230 displays the user'sconfigured cameras in addition to the camera add button 2235. In variousexamples, the camera add button 2235 is configured to permit the user toadd a new camera to the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230.

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary camera lobby feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 23, the exemplaryGraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112 includesthe GraveTime App camera lobby 2230 displaying the user's camerasconfigured in the GraveTime App. In the depicted example, the GraveTimeApp camera lobby 2230 screen includes the camera add button 2235configured to permit the user to add a new camera to the GraveTime Appcamera lobby 2230. In the illustrated embodiment, the exemplaryGraveTime App camera lobby 2230 screen includes the camera statusindicator 2305 indicating the status of the configured camera. In thedepicted example, the camera settings menu button 2310 provides the userconfiguration access to settings for the user's cameras configured inthe GraveTime App. In the illustrated example, the share camera button2315 generates a dynamic link to the camera to be shared. In thedepicted embodiment, the scrolling camera lobby 2320 presents threecameras configured in the GraveTime App, permitting the user to scrolldown for access to each camera in the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230.

FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary camera text sharing feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 24, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112includes the depicted camera text sharing template configured tofacilitate sharing a camera dynamic link created by the share camerabutton 2315, depicted in FIG. 23. The depicted exemplary camera textsharing template includes the subject 2405 and camera sharing invitation2410. In the depicted example, the invitation body 2415 includes theuser-customized message, and the dynamic camera share link 2420.

FIGS. 25A-25B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface in an illustrative camera connection scenario, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 25A, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112includes the camera connection dialog 2505. In the illustrated example,the animated spinning logo loading icon presents a series of words in analternating fade-in/fade-out display during the user-initiated cameraconnection process. In the depicted example, each word is randomlychosen from a list. In various examples, the list of words to bepresented may be customized by a user. In some examples, the list ofwords to be presented may be predetermined. In various designs, thewords may be presented in a customized order, or with customized timingfor display of specific words, or customized delay time between specificwords. In FIG. 25B, the exemplary GraveTime App configured in theexemplary user interface 112 includes the snapshot image display 2510.In the depicted embodiment, after connecting to the camera, the cameratakes a snapshot image, and displays the snapshot as the snapshot imagedisplay 2510 until a live video session is available for presentation tothe user in the GraveTime App. Various examples may advantageouslyconserve data and battery usage as a result of presenting the snapshotimage display to the user until a live video session is available.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary live screen feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 26, the exemplaryGraveTime App live screen features configured in the exemplary mobiledevice 106 user interface 112 include the live button 2605 configured toactivate and deactivate live display. In various examples, the livebutton 2605 may permit a user to switch the GraveTime App displaybetween live and delayed or previously captured video from a memorial.In the illustrated example, the GraveTime App live screen featuresinclude the open tab 2610 configured to permit the user to open the livescreen controls 2645. In the depicted embodiment, the GraveTime App livescreen features include the back button 2615 configured to return theGraveTime App to the menu or screen last accessed by the user. In theillustrated embodiment, the GraveTime App live screen features includethe live connection indicator 2620 displaying an exemplary disconnectedindication. In the depicted example, the GraveTime App live screenfeatures include the camera battery indicator 2625 configured to displaythe connected camera's battery charge level. In the illustratedembodiment, the GraveTime App live screen features include the livesnapshot image display 2630 presented after connecting the camera. Inthe depicted embodiment, the GraveTime App live screen features includethe close tab button 2635 configured to close the live screen controls2645. In the illustrated example, the GraveTime App live screen featuresinclude the camera settings button 2640, providing the user access todetailed camera settings. In the depicted embodiment, the GraveTime Applive screen features include the camera MIC toggle 2650 buttonconfigured to permit the user to switch between camera and MIC. In theillustrated example, the GraveTime App live screen features include therecord video button 2655 enabling the user to record video on demand,and the snapshot button 2660 permitting the user to take a snapshot,using the connected camera.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary live video feature, in accordance with variousgraveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 27, the exemplaryGraveTime App live video features configured in the exemplary mobiledevice 106 user interface 112 include the exemplary video mode button2670 depicted in an illustrative live configuration. In the depictedembodiment, a user may press and hold the video mode button 2670 forlive video. In an illustrative example, upon the user's release of thevideo mode button 2670, the live video stops. In the illustratedexample, the GraveTime App live video features include the liveconnection indicator 2620 displaying an exemplary disconnectedindication. In an illustrative example, when connected and showing livevideo, the live connection indicator 2620 may show the exemplaryconnected indication 2665. In some examples, the connected indication2665 displayed by the live connection indicator 2620 may include aconnected icon. In some implementations, when disconnected, adisconnected icon may be shown on the live connection indicator 2620. Insome designs, the live connection indicator 2620 may display anindication of graveside telepresence status, as described with referenceto FIGS. 1, and FIGS. 40-43. In some embodiments, the live connectionindicator 2620 may display continuous indication of the status of theuser's physical interaction with a memorial remote from the user, asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1, and FIGS. 40-43.

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative five-minute live video lock scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 28, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary mobile device 106user interface 112 includes the live video lock button 2805 configuredto lock video in live display mode for a predetermined five-minute timeperiod. In some examples, the live video lock button 2805 may beconfigured to lock video in live display mode for a period of timeconfigurable by a user. In the illustrated example, the GraveTime Applive video features include the live button 2605 configured in anillustrative live video mode, with the live video lock button 2805 in anexemplary locked live video mode 2810. In the illustrated example, theuser slides the live video lock button 2805 to the left to activate thelocked live video mode 2810 for five minutes. In an illustrativeexample, the user will not have to press and hold to view live video. Inthe illustrated embodiment, when the user moves the live button to theleft, all other buttons disappear, revealing the live video display2815. In an illustrative example, if the user taps the screen, thebuttons reappear. In the depicted embodiment, the alert window 2820opens after five minutes, and the user may select to continue foranother five minutes, or select not to continue. In the illustratedexample, if the user selects not to continue, or if the user does notrespond for sixty seconds, the user is returned to the user cameradisplay 2825 presented by the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230, depictedin FIG. 22.

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative additional time purchase scenario, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 29, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface 112includes the illustrative additional time purchase dialog 2905. In anillustrative example, if a user is on the peace of mind plan, or if theuser's camera is set to public, users will be able to purchase timeblocks through the additional time purchase dialog 2905. In theillustrated embodiment, the additional time purchase dialog 2905implemented in the user interface 112 includes the countdown display2910 indicating the remaining live time. In the illustrated embodiment,if the user selects to buy time or enter a gift code, the GraveTime Appconnects the user to their camera for the additional time purchased,otherwise, the user is returned to the GraveTime App camera lobby 2230.In the depicted embodiment, the camera add button 2235 is configured topermit the user to add a new camera to the GraveTime App camera lobby2230.

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary diary section feature, in accordance withvarious graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 30, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary mobile device 106user interface 112 includes the initial diary 3005 created for eachcamera when the camera is added by a user. In the illustratedembodiment, one or more diary entry 3010 may be included in the diary3005. In the depicted example, each diary 3005 is associated to thecamera diary name 3015 configured in the user's account. In the depictedembodiment, the exemplary camera diary section features include the addnew text note entry button 3020 and the delete multiple entries button3025, configured to permit the user's creation and management of thediary. In the illustrated example, the exemplary camera diary sectionincludes the saved text note/transcription 3030, created by the user inthe camera diary. In the depicted embodiment, the exemplary camera diarysection includes the diary entry 3010 saved time-lapse video 3035 andthe diary entry 3010 saved video 3040. In the illustrated example, theexemplary camera diary section includes the diary entry 3010 savedimages 3045, 3050. In the depicted example, the exemplary camera diarysection includes the save as favorite for filter button 3055 and thefilter options screen 3060. In the illustrated example, the exemplarycamera diary section includes the selected entries 3065. In the depictedexample, the exemplary camera diary section includes the delete selectedentries button 3070. In various examples, the user may be presented witha popup to confirm deletion. In the illustrated example, the unselectedentries 3075 are not marked for deletion.

FIG. 31 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interface in anillustrative diary entry scenario, in accordance with various gravesidetelepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 31, the exemplary GraveTime Appconfigured in the exemplary mobile device 106 user interface 112includes the share by mail or text button 3105. In the illustratedexample, the exemplary camera diary entry features include the deleteentry button 3110. In various examples, activating the delete entrybutton 3110 may cause the GraveTime App to prompt the user to confirmdiary entry 3010 deletion before continuing. In the depicted example,the exemplary camera diary entry features include the diary videocontrol 3115 configured to play or pause video when tapped by the user.In the illustrated embodiment, the exemplary camera diary entry featuresinclude the video track 3120 configured to represent the playing timeand remaining time position of the current video. In the illustratedexample, the user may select the diary entry controls 3125 to save orcancel diary entry editing, or double tap the text editor panel 3130 toedit diary entry text or title.

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary graveside telepresence user interfacedisplaying an exemplary meditation music section feature, in accordancewith various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. In FIG. 32, theexemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary mobile device 106user interface 112 includes the music selection 3205. In variousexamples, the GraveTime App may be preloaded with multiple songs. In thedepicted example, the exemplary meditation music section featuresinclude the music mode selection button 3210. In an illustrativeexample, when the user navigates to the music section, the app willcheck for new music available, and the user may tap to select music toplay from the available gallery. In various examples, the music may bestreamed from a cloud server, or played from the user's device. In anillustrative example, if not downloaded to the user's device, the usermay download before playing the music. In the illustrated example, theexemplary meditation music section features include the play outside appbutton 3215 depicted in an illustrative activated configuration. In anillustrative example, the exemplary GraveTime App may continue to playmusic when the GraveTime App is in the background, when the play outsideapp button 3215 is activated.

FIGS. 33A-33B together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface displaying exemplary settings management features, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. InFIG. 33A, the exemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary mobiledevice 106 user interface 112 includes the main settings screen 3305. Inthe illustrated example, the exemplary settings management featuresinclude the WiFi setup screen 3315. In FIG. 33B, the illustratedsettings management features include the change profile password screen3310 and the camera name screen 3320.

FIGS. 34A-34C together depict an exemplary graveside telepresence userinterface displaying exemplary camera settings management features, inaccordance with various graveside telepresence embodiment designs. InFIG. 34A, the exemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary userinterface 112 includes the camera setting menu 3405. From the exemplarycamera setting menu 3405, a user may access the purchase time screen3410 to buy additional time blocks, purchase gift time, or buy a giftcode. The purchase time screen 3410 may also show remaining timeavailable. From the exemplary camera setting menu 3405, a user mayaccess the user management screen 3425 and the subscription plans screen3430. In FIG. 34B, the exemplary GraveTime App configured in theexemplary user interface 112 includes the anniversary music selectionscreen 3415 and the anniversary music schedule screen 3420, accessiblefrom the camera setting menu 3405, depicted in FIG. 34A. In FIG. 34C,the exemplary GraveTime App configured in the exemplary user interface112 includes the camera name screen 3435, photo upload screen 3440, andthe photo edit screen, accessible from the camera setting menu 3405,depicted in FIG. 34A. The user may also switch to the camera lobby 2230,from the camera setting menu 3405, depicted in FIG. 34A.

FIG. 35 depicts the top level of an exemplary graveside telepresenceadministrative dashboard user interface flow map, in accordance with theexemplary administrative server 175 depicted by FIG. 1.

FIGS. 36A-36C together depict the User level of the exemplary gravesidetelepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted by FIG. 35.

FIGS. 37A-37C together depict the Camera level of the exemplarygraveside telepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted byFIG. 35.

FIGS. 38A-38C together depict the Analytics level of the exemplarygraveside telepresence administrative dashboard flow map depicted byFIG. 35.

FIGS. 39A-39B together depict the TAP (In App Purchase) and Partnerlevels of the exemplary graveside telepresence administrative dashboardflow map depicted by FIG. 35.

FIG. 40 depicts a structural view of an exemplary graveside telepresencedevice configured to exchange multimedia between a grave and a user'scommunications device remote from the grave, activate an energy emitterconfigured by the graveside device to physically interact with the graveresponsive to the remote user's activity, and send to the user'scommunication device a live indication of the interaction. In FIG. 40,the block diagram of the exemplary graveside telepresence device 115includes processor 4005 and memory 4010. The processor 4005 is inelectrical communication with the memory 4010. The depicted memory 4010includes program memory 4015 and data memory 4020. The depicted programmemory 4015 includes processor-executable program instructionsimplementing the GTME (GraveTime Management Engine) 4025. In someembodiments, the illustrated program memory 4015 may includeprocessor-executable program instructions configured to implement an OS(Operating System). In various embodiments, the OS may include processorexecutable program instructions configured to implement variousoperations when executed by the processor 4005. In some embodiments, theOS may be omitted. In some embodiments, the illustrated program memory4015 may include processor-executable program instructions configured toimplement various Application Software. In various embodiments, theApplication Software may include processor executable programinstructions configured to implement various operations when executed bythe processor 4005. In some embodiments, the Application Software may beomitted. In the depicted embodiment, the processor 4005 iscommunicatively and operably coupled with the storage medium 4030. Invarious implementations, the storage medium 4030 may be an SD card. Insome designs, the SD card may be removable. In the depicted embodiment,the processor 4005 is communicatively and operably coupled with the I/O(Input/Output) interface 4035. In the depicted embodiment, the I/Ointerface 4035 includes a network interface. In various implementations,the network interface may be a wireless network interface. In somedesigns, the network interface may be a Wi-Fi interface. In someembodiments, the network interface may be a Bluetooth interface. In anillustrative example, the graveside telepresence device 115 may includemore than one network interface. In some designs, the network interfacemay be a wireline interface. In some implementations, the networkinterface may be omitted. In some embodiments, the I/O interface 4035may include a laser pointer adapted to emit light energy, wherein thelaser pointer is operably and communicatively coupled with the processor4005, and wherein the laser pointer orientation in three dimensionalspace is governed by a pan and tilt apparatus operably andcommunicatively coupled with the laser pointer and the processor 4005.In the depicted embodiment, the processor 4005 is communicatively andoperably coupled with the user interface 4040. In variousimplementations, the user interface 4040 may be adapted to receive inputfrom a user or send output to a user. In some embodiments, the userinterface 4040 may be adapted to an input-only or output-only userinterface mode. In various implementations, the user interface 4040 mayinclude an imaging display. In some embodiments, the user interface 4040may include an audio interface. In some designs, the audio interface mayinclude an audio input. In various designs, the audio interface mayinclude an audio output. In some implementations, the user interface4040 may be touch-sensitive. In some designs, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 may include an accelerometer operably coupled with theprocessor 4005. In various embodiments, the graveside telepresencedevice 115 may include a GPS module operably coupled with the processor4005. In an illustrative example, the graveside telepresence device 115may include a magnetometer operably coupled with the processor 4005. Insome embodiments, the user interface 4040 may include an input sensorarray. In various implementations, the input sensor array may includeone or more imaging sensor. In various designs, the input sensor arraymay include one or more audio transducer. In some implementations, theinput sensor array may include a radio-frequency detector. In anillustrative example, the input sensor array may include an ultrasonicaudio transducer. In some embodiments, the input sensor array mayinclude image sensing subsystems or modules configurable by theprocessor 4005 to be adapted to provide image input capability, imageoutput capability, image sampling, spectral image analysis, correlation,autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, image buffering, image filteringoperations including adjusting frequency response and attenuationcharacteristics of spatial domain and frequency domain filters, imagerecognition, pattern recognition, object tracking, optical flow, oranomaly detection. In various implementations, the depicted memory 4010may contain processor executable program instruction modulesconfigurable by the processor 4005 to be adapted to provide image inputcapability, image output capability, image sampling, spectral imageanalysis, correlation, autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, imagebuffering, image filtering operations including adjusting frequencyresponse and attenuation characteristics of spatial domain and frequencydomain filters, image recognition, pattern recognition, object tracking,optical flow, or anomaly detection. In some embodiments, the inputsensor array may include audio sensing subsystems or modulesconfigurable by the processor 4005 to be adapted to provide audio inputcapability, audio output capability, audio sampling, spectral audioanalysis, correlation, autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, audiobuffering, audio filtering operations including adjusting frequencyresponse and attenuation characteristics of temporal domain andfrequency domain filters, audio pattern recognition, or anomalydetection. In various implementations, the depicted memory 4010 maycontain processor executable program instruction modules configurable bythe processor 4005 to be adapted to provide audio input capability,audio output capability, audio sampling, spectral audio analysis,correlation, autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, audio buffering, audiofiltering operations including adjusting frequency response andattenuation characteristics of temporal domain and frequency domainfilters, audio pattern recognition, or anomaly detection. In thedepicted embodiment, the processor 4005 is communicatively and operablycoupled with the multimedia interface 4045. In the illustratedembodiment, the multimedia interface 4045 includes interfaces adapted toinput and output of audio, video, and image data. In some embodiments,the multimedia interface 4045 may include one or more still image cameraor video camera. In various designs, the multimedia interface 4045 mayinclude one or more microphone. In some implementations, the multimediainterface 4045 may include a wireless communication means configured tooperably and communicatively couple the multimedia interface 4045 with amultimedia data source or sink external to the graveside telepresencedevice 115. In some embodiments, the multimedia interface 4045 mayinclude a low frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energyconstrained to a frequency range below the lower limit of thehuman-audible frequency range. In an illustrative example, the lowfrequency audio transducer may be a low frequency speaker. In somedesigns, the multimedia interface 4045 may include a high frequencyaudio transducer adapted to emit sound energy constrained to a frequencyrange above the upper limit of the human-audible frequency range. In anillustrative example, the high frequency audio transducer may be anultrasonic audio transducer. In an illustrative example, the highfrequency audio transducer may be a high frequency speaker. In variousdesigns, the multimedia interface 4045 may include interfaces adapted tosend, receive, or process encoded audio or video. In variousembodiments, the multimedia interface 4045 may include one or morevideo, image, or audio encoder. In various designs, the multimediainterface 4045 may include one or more video, image, or audio decoder.In various implementations, the multimedia interface 4045 may includeinterfaces adapted to send, receive, or process one or more multimediastream. In various implementations, the multimedia interface 4045 mayinclude a GPU. In some embodiments, the multimedia interface 4045 may beomitted. Useful examples of the illustrated graveside telepresencedevice 115 include, but are not limited to, personal computers, servers,tablet PCs, smartphones, or other computing devices. In someembodiments, multiple graveside telepresence device 115 devices may beoperably linked to form a computer network in a manner as to distributeand share one or more resources, such as clustered computing devices andserver banks/farms. Various examples of such general-purpose multi-unitcomputer networks suitable for embodiments of the disclosure, theirtypical configuration and many standardized communication links are wellknown to one skilled in the art, as explained in more detail in theforegoing FIG. 2 description. In some embodiments, an exemplarygraveside telepresence device 115 design may be realized in adistributed implementation. In an illustrative example, some gravesidetelepresence device 115 designs may be partitioned between a clientdevice, such as, for example, a phone, and, a more powerful serversystem, as depicted, for example, in FIG. 2. In various designs, agraveside telepresence device 115 partition hosted on a PC or mobiledevice may choose to delegate some parts of computation, such as, forexample, machine learning or deep learning, to a host server. In someembodiments, a client device partition may delegatecomputation-intensive tasks to a host server to take advantage of a morepowerful processor, or to offload excess work. In an illustrativeexample, some devices may be configured with a mobile chip including anengine adapted to implement specialized processing, such as, forexample, neural networks, machine learning, artificial intelligence,image recognition, audio processing, or digital signal processing. Insome embodiments, such an engine adapted to specialized processing mayhave sufficient processing power to implement some features. However, insome embodiments, an exemplary graveside telepresence device 115 may beconfigured to operate on a device with less processing power, such as,for example, various gaming consoles, which may not have sufficientprocessor power, or a suitable CPU architecture, to adequately supportgraveside telepresence device 115. Various embodiment designs configuredto operate on a such a device with reduced processor power may work inconjunction with a more powerful server system.

FIG. 41 depicts an exemplary process flow of an embodiment GTME(GraveTime Management Engine). The method depicted in FIG. 41 is givenfrom the perspective of the GTME (GraveTime Management Engine) 4025implemented via processor-executable program instructions executing onthe graveside telepresence device 115 processor 4005, depicted in FIG.40. In the illustrated embodiment, the GTME 4025 executes as programinstructions on the processor 4005 configured in the GTME 4025 hostgraveside telepresence device 115, depicted in at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2,and FIG. 40. In some embodiments, the GTME 4025 may execute as a cloudservice communicatively and operatively coupled with system services,hardware resources, or software elements local to and/or external to theGTME 4025 host graveside telepresence device 115. The depicted method4100 begins at step 4105 with the processor 4005 sending an electronicmessage comprising memorial video to a remote device. In someembodiments, the memorial video sent to the remote device may be videocaptured by the graveside telepresence device 115, depicted in at leastFIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 40. In some designs, the video may includepre-recorded or time-lapse video that was captured at a prior time oranother location. Various implementations may send video to the remotedevice according to a predetermined schedule. In various embodiments,the remote device may be, for example, the mobile device 106, depictedin at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 42. In various exemplary scenarios,the remote device may be a tablet, desktop computer, or an autonomouscomputer application executing as a cloud service. Then, the methodcontinues at step 4110 with the processor 4005 receiving an electronicmessage comprising laser pointer activation from a remote device. Invarious examples, the remote device sending the electronic messagecomprising laser pointer activation may be the mobile device 106. Insome examples, the remote device may be a tablet, desktop computer, oran autonomous computer application executing as a cloud service. In somedesigns, the message comprising laser pointer activation may include oneor more command 147, depicted in FIG. 1. Then, the method continues atstep 4115 with the processor 4005 receiving an electronic messagecomprising a user's voice from a remote device. In some embodiments, theelectronic message comprising the user's voice may include one or moreuser multimedia 142, depicted in FIG. 1. Then, the method continues atstep 4120 with the processor 4005 illuminating the laser pointer at amemorial. In some embodiments, the processor 4005 may activate the laserpointer to illuminate a spot on the memorial surface with laser lightdirected at the memorial. Then, the method continues at step 4125 withthe processor 4005 playing the user's voice through a low-frequencyspeaker at the memorial. In some examples, before playing the user'svoice at the memorial, the processor 4005 may spectrum-shift the user'svoice to a frequency range above or below a human-audible frequencyrange. Such spectrum-shifting of the user's voice by the processor 4005to an inaudible frequency range may enhance the user's privacy byrendering the user's voice inaudible to living persons in the vicinityof the memorial. Then, the method continues at step 4130 with theprocessor 4005 modulating the laser illumination as a function of theremote device user's voice. In some examples, the processor 4005 mayturn the laser pointer illumination off and on as a function of anenergy detector configured in the graveside telepresence device 115 tosense the level of sound pressure generated by the low-frequencyspeaker. Then, the method continues at step 4135 with the processor 4005determining if the laser modulation tracked the user's voice, based onthe processor 4005 analyzing audio and video captured at the memorial bythe graveside telepresence device 115. In some embodiments, theprocessor 4005 may identify laser pointer illumination on and off eventsas a function of time, based on video image processing analysis ofmemorial video captured by the graveside telepresence device 115. In anillustrative example, the processor 4005 may compare vocal audio energyextrema, determined as a function of the user's voice, with the laserpointer illumination on and off events, identified as a function ofvideo analysis, to determine if the laser modulation tracked the user'svoice based on the comparison. Then, the method continues at step 4140with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine if the lasermodulation tracked the user's voice, based on the memorial audio andvideo analysis performed by the processor 4005 at step 4135. Upon adetermination by the processor 4005 at step 4140 the laser modulationdid not track the user's voice, the method continues at step 4105 withthe processor 4005 sending an electronic message comprising memorialvideo to a remote device. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 atstep 4140 the laser modulation tracked the user's voice, the methodcontinues at step 4145 with the processor 4005 sending an electronicmessage comprising telepresence success. In various examples, theelectronic message comprising telepresence success sent by the processor4005 may include one or more graveside telepresence indication 160,depicted in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the processor 4005 may send thegraveside telepresence indication 160 to the mobile device 106, depictedin at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 42. In an illustrative example, theprocessor 4005 may send the graveside telepresence indication 160 as aconfirmation of live interaction with a memorial, based on physicalmeasurement at the memorial. Such physical live interaction confirmationmay improve the sense of realism associated to a user's interaction witha loved one's memorial. In some embodiments, a continuous interactionindication sent by the processor 4005 to the remote user's mobile devicemay improve the remote user's sense of presence at the memorial. Invarious implementations, the method 4100 may repeat.

FIG. 42 depicts a structural view of an exemplary mobile deviceconfigured to physically interact with a memorial, and receive a liveindication of the interaction. In FIG. 42, the block diagram of theexemplary mobile device 106 includes processor 4205 and memory 4210. Theprocessor 4205 is in electrical communication with the memory 4210. Thedepicted memory 4210 includes program memory 4215 and data memory 4220.The depicted program memory 4215 includes processor-executable programinstructions implementing the GTIE (GraveTime Interface Engine) 4225. Insome embodiments, the illustrated program memory 4215 may includeprocessor-executable program instructions configured to implement an OS(Operating System). In various embodiments, the OS may include processorexecutable program instructions configured to implement variousoperations when executed by the processor 4205. In some embodiments, theOS may be omitted. In some embodiments, the illustrated program memory4215 may include processor-executable program instructions configured toimplement various Application Software. In various embodiments, theApplication Software may include processor executable programinstructions configured to implement various operations when executed bythe processor 4205. In some embodiments, the Application Software may beomitted. In the depicted embodiment, the processor 4205 iscommunicatively and operably coupled with the storage medium 4230. Inthe depicted embodiment, the processor 4205 is communicatively andoperably coupled with the I/O (Input/Output) interface 4235. In thedepicted embodiment, the I/O interface 4235 includes a networkinterface. In various implementations, the network interface may be awireless network interface. In some designs, the network interface maybe a Wi-Fi interface. In some embodiments, the network interface may bea Bluetooth interface. In an illustrative example, the mobile device 106may include more than one network interface. In some designs, thenetwork interface may be a wireline interface. In some designs, thenetwork interface may be omitted. In the depicted embodiment, theprocessor 4205 is communicatively and operably coupled with the userinterface 4240. In various implementations, the user interface 4240 maybe adapted to receive input from a user or send output to a user. Insome embodiments, the user interface 4240 may be adapted to aninput-only or output-only user interface mode. In variousimplementations, the user interface 4240 may include an imaging display.In some embodiments, the user interface 4240 may include an audiointerface. In some designs, the audio interface may include an audioinput. In various designs, the audio interface may include an audiooutput. In some implementations, the user interface 4240 may betouch-sensitive. In some designs, the mobile device 106 may include anaccelerometer operably coupled with the processor 4205. In variousembodiments, the mobile device 106 may include a GPS module operablycoupled with the processor 4205. In an illustrative example, the mobiledevice 106 may include a magnetometer operably coupled with theprocessor 4205. In some embodiments, the user interface 4240 may includean input sensor array. In various implementations, the input sensorarray may include one or more imaging sensor. In various designs, theinput sensor array may include one or more audio transducer. In someimplementations, the input sensor array may include a radio-frequencydetector. In an illustrative example, the input sensor array may includean ultrasonic audio transducer. In some embodiments, the input sensorarray may include image sensing subsystems or modules configurable bythe processor 4205 to be adapted to provide image input capability,image output capability, image sampling, spectral image analysis,correlation, autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, image buffering, imagefiltering operations including adjusting frequency response andattenuation characteristics of spatial domain and frequency domainfilters, image recognition, pattern recognition, or anomaly detection.In various implementations, the depicted memory 4210 may containprocessor executable program instruction modules configurable by theprocessor 4205 to be adapted to provide image input capability, imageoutput capability, image sampling, spectral image analysis, correlation,autocorrelation, Fourier transforms, image buffering, image filteringoperations including adjusting frequency response and attenuationcharacteristics of spatial domain and frequency domain filters, imagerecognition, pattern recognition, or anomaly detection. In someembodiments, the input sensor array may include audio sensing subsystemsor modules configurable by the processor 4205 to be adapted to provideaudio input capability, audio output capability, audio sampling,spectral audio analysis, correlation, autocorrelation, Fouriertransforms, audio buffering, audio filtering operations includingadjusting frequency response and attenuation characteristics of temporaldomain and frequency domain filters, audio pattern recognition, audiospectrum shifting, or anomaly detection. In various implementations, thedepicted memory 4210 may contain processor executable programinstruction modules configurable by the processor 4205 to be adapted toprovide audio input capability, audio output capability, audio sampling,spectral audio analysis, correlation, autocorrelation, Fouriertransforms, audio buffering, audio filtering operations includingadjusting frequency response and attenuation characteristics of temporaldomain and frequency domain filters, audio pattern recognition, audiospectrum shifting, or anomaly detection. In the depicted embodiment, theprocessor 4205 is communicatively and operably coupled with themultimedia interface 4245. In the illustrated embodiment, the multimediainterface 4245 includes interfaces adapted to input and output of audio,video, and image data. In some embodiments, the multimedia interface4245 may include one or more still image camera or video camera. Invarious designs, the multimedia interface 4245 may include one or moremicrophone. In some implementations, the multimedia interface 4245 mayinclude a wireless communication means configured to operably andcommunicatively couple the multimedia interface 4245 with a multimediadata source or sink external to the mobile device 106. In variousdesigns, the multimedia interface 4245 may include interfaces adapted tosend, receive, or process encoded audio or video. In variousembodiments, the multimedia interface 4245 may include one or morevideo, image, or audio encoder. In various designs, the multimediainterface 4245 may include one or more video, image, or audio decoder.In various implementations, the multimedia interface 4245 may includeinterfaces adapted to send, receive, or process one or more multimediastream. In various implementations, the multimedia interface 4245 mayinclude a GPU. In some embodiments, the multimedia interface 4245 may beomitted. Useful examples of the illustrated mobile device 106 include,but are not limited to, personal computers, servers, tablet PCs,smartphones, or other computing devices. In some embodiments, multiplemobile device 106 implementations may be operably linked to form acomputer network in a manner as to distribute and share one or moreresources, such as clustered computing devices and server banks/farms.Various examples of such general-purpose multi-unit computer networkssuitable for embodiments of the disclosure, their typical configurationand many standardized communication links are well known to one skilledin the art, as explained in more detail in the foregoing FIG. 2description. In some embodiments, an exemplary mobile device 106 designmay be realized in a distributed implementation. In an illustrativeexample, some mobile device 106 designs may be partitioned between aclient device, such as, for example, a phone, and, a more powerfulserver system, as depicted, for example, in FIG. 2. In various designs,a mobile device 106 partition hosted on a PC or mobile device may chooseto delegate some parts of computation, such as, for example, machinelearning or deep learning, to a host server. In some embodiments, aclient device partition may delegate computation-intensive tasks to ahost server to take advantage of a more powerful processor, or tooffload excess work. In an illustrative example, some devices may beconfigured with a mobile chip including an engine adapted to implementspecialized processing, such as, for example, neural networks, machinelearning, artificial intelligence, image recognition, audio processing,or digital signal processing. In some embodiments, such an engineadapted to specialized processing may have sufficient processing powerto implement some features. However, in some embodiments, an exemplarymobile device 106 may be configured to operate on a device with lessprocessing power, such as, for example, various gaming consoles, whichmay not have sufficient processor power, or a suitable CPU architecture,to adequately support mobile device 106. Various embodiment designsconfigured to operate on a such a device with reduced processor powermay work in conjunction with a more powerful server system.

FIG. 43 depicts an exemplary process flow of an embodiment GTIE(GraveTime Interface Engine). The method depicted in FIG. 43 is givenfrom the perspective of the GTIE (GraveTime Interface Engine) 4225implemented via processor-executable program instructions executing onthe mobile device 106 processor 4205, depicted in FIG. 42. In theillustrated embodiment, the GTIE 4225 executes as program instructionson the processor 4205 configured in the GTIE 4225 host mobile device106, depicted in at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 42. In someembodiments, the GTIE 4225 may execute as a cloud servicecommunicatively and operatively coupled with system services, hardwareresources, or software elements local to and/or external to the GTIE4225 host mobile device 106. The depicted method 4300 begins at step4305 with the processor 4205 receiving an electronic message comprisingmemorial video. In various embodiments, the electronic message receivedby the processor 4205 at step 4305 may be sent by the gravesidetelepresence device 115, depicted at least in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.40. In some examples, the memorial video may include gravesidemultimedia 163, depicted in FIG. 1. In various embodiments, thegraveside multimedia 163 may include raw or encoded data organized in aframe, packet, or stream. Then, the method continues at step 4310 withthe processor 4205 capturing the user's voice. Then, the methodcontinues at step 4315 with the processor 4205 spectrum-shifting theuser's voice to an inaudible frequency range. Then, the method continuesat step 4320 with the processor 4205 sending an electronic messagecomprising the user's spectrum-shifted voice. Then, the method continuesat step 4325 with the processor 4205 sending an electronic messagecomprising laser pointer activation. In some examples, the electronicmessage comprising laser pointer activation sent by the processor 4205at step 4325 may include one or more user command 147, depicted inFIG. 1. In various implementations, the mobile device 106 processor 4205may send one or more user command 147 to the graveside telepresencedevice 115, depicted in at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 40. In someexamples, the user command 147 may include a directive configured tocause the graveside telepresence device 115 to reorient a laser pointerto a different position or location relative to the memorial surface, ormodulate the laser pointer illumination. Then, the method continues atstep 4330 with the processor 4205 receiving an electronic messagecomprising telepresence status. In some examples, the electronic messagecomprising telepresence status received by the processor 4205 at step4330 may include graveside telepresence indication 160, depicted inFIG. 1. In various embodiments, the graveside telepresence indication160 received by the processor 4205 at step 4330 may include datarepresentative of laser pointer activity captured by the remote device.For example, the data representative of laser pointer activity receivedby the processor 4205 at step 4330 may include a time-stamped sequenceof coordinates representative of a laser pointer moving to target asequence of locations on a memorial surface. Then, the method continuesat step 4335 with the processor 4205 analyzing the telepresence statusreceived by the processor 4205 at step 4330, to determine if gravesidetelepresence succeeded, based on the analysis. In an illustrativeexample, the processor 4205 may compare the data representative of laserpointer activity received by the processor 4205 at step 4330 with thelaser pointer directive included in the user command 147, to determineif the laser pointer successfully followed the user command. In someexamples, the processor 4205 may compare the difference between the usercommand 147 and the graveside telepresence indication 160 to apredetermined threshold, to determine if graveside telepresencesucceeded. Then, the method continues at step 4340 with the processor4205 performing a test to determine if graveside telepresence succeeded,based on the graveside telepresence analysis performed by the processor4205 at step 4335. Upon a determination by the processor 4205 at step4340 graveside telepresence did not succeed, the method continues atstep 4305 with the processor 4205 receiving an electronic messagecomprising memorial video. Upon a determination by the processor 4205 atstep 4340 graveside telepresence succeeded, the method continues at step4345 with the processor 4205 indicating graveside telepresence successon the user interface. In various embodiments, the processor 4205 mayactivate a graveside telepresence success indication on the mobiledevice 106 user interface 112. In an illustrative example, the gravesidetelepresence success indication activated in the mobile device 106 userinterface 112 may be based on tracking the movement of the laser pointerillumination from a first memorial surface location to a second memorialsurface location. In various examples, the processor 4205 mayanalytically confirm, based on object tracking or optical flowalgorithms implemented in the graveside device 115 or the mobile device106, that the tracked laser pointer illumination movement was consistentwith the user action, and provide an indication of the confirmation onthe mobile device 106 user interface 112. Such a confirmation of liveinteraction based on physical measurement at the memorial may improvethe sense of realism associated to a user's interaction with a lovedone's memorial. In various implementations, the method 4300 may repeat.

FIG. 44 depicts an exemplary initialization and configuration processflow of an embodiment graveside telepresence device configured toexchange multimedia between a grave and a user's communications deviceremote from the grave. The method depicted in FIG. 44 is given from theperspective of the GTME (GraveTime Management Engine) 4025 implementedvia processor-executable program instructions executing on the gravesidetelepresence device 115 processor 4005, depicted in FIG. 40. In theillustrated embodiment, the GTME 4025 executes as program instructionson the processor 4005 configured in the GTME 4025 host gravesidetelepresence device 115, depicted in at least FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG.40. In some embodiments, the GTME 4025 may execute as a cloud servicecommunicatively and operatively coupled with system services, hardwareresources, or software elements local to and/or external to the GTME4025 host graveside telepresence device 115. The depicted method 4400begins at step 4405 with the processor 4005 performing a test todetermine if the voltage is connected normally. Upon a determination bythe processor 4005 at step 4405 the voltage is not connected normally,the method ends at step 4410. Upon a determination by the processor 4005at step 4405 the voltage is connected normally, the method continues atstep 4415 with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine if thetest voltage is connected normally. Upon a determination by theprocessor 4005 at step 4415 the test voltage is not connected normally,the method continues at step 4420 with the processor 4005 starting thesolar panel charging. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 at step4415 the test voltage is connected normally, the method continues atstep 4425 with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine if theparameter initialization was successful. Upon a determination by theprocessor 4005 at step 4425 the parameter initialization was notsuccessful, the method continues at step 4430 with the processor 4005resetting power, and the method continues at step 4425 with theprocessor 4005 performing a test to determine if the parameterinitialization was successful. Upon a determination by the processor4005 at step 4425 the parameter initialization was successful, themethod continues at step 4435 with the processor 4005 performing a testto determine if any device is connected to TX, based on the processor4005 running TX to check if a device is connected. Upon a determinationby the processor 4005 at step 4435 no device is connected, the methodcontinues at step 4440 with the processor 4005 configuring the gravesidetelepresence device 115 to go to sleep, and the method continues at step4450 with the processor 4450 performing a test to determine if there isa wake-up call. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 at step 4450there is no wake-up call, the method continues at step 4430 with theprocessor 4005 resetting power, and the method continues at step 4425with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine if the parameterinitialization was successful. Upon a determination by the processor4005 at step 4450 there is a wake-up call, or upon a determination bythe processor 4005 at step 4435 a device is connected, the methodcontinues at step 4445 with the processor 4005 performing a test todetermine if the receiving device is operating without any problem. Upona determination by the processor 4005 at step 4445 the receiving deviceis not operating without any problem, the method continues at step 4430with the processor 4005 resetting power. Upon a determination by theprocessor 4005 at step 4445 the receiving device is operating withoutany problem, the method continues at step 4455 with the processor 4005performing a test to determine if there is an image transfer returnparameter, based on transferring an image and checking for a returnparameter. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 at step 4455 thereis a parameter return, the method continues at step 4465 with theprocessor 4005 saving the settings, and the method continues at step4455 with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine if there isan image transfer return parameter, based on transferring an image andchecking for a return parameter. Upon a determination by the processor4005 at step 4455 there is not a parameter return, the method continuesat step 4460 with the processor 4005 performing a test to determine ifthe graveside telepresence device 115 is operating without a detectableproblem, based on sending video to the device, and checking the devicevideo operation. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 at step 4460the graveside telepresence device 115 is not operating without adetectable problem, the method continues at step 4430 with the processor4005 resetting power. Upon a determination by the processor 4005 at step4460 the graveside telepresence device 115 is operating without adetectable problem, the method continues at step 4455 with the processor4005 performing a test to determine if there is an image transfer returnparameter, based on transferring an image and checking for a returnparameter. In various implementations, the method 4400 may repeat.

FIG. 45 depicts various exemplary graveside telepresence deviceembodiment implementation features. In various embodimentimplementations, an exemplary graveside telepresence device 115 mayinclude rechargeable battery 4505. Some exemplary graveside telepresencedevice 115 designs may include solar panel 330, configured to providepower from the sun 335. Various graveside telepresence device 115embodiments may include WiFi interface 4035. In some examples, anembodiment graveside telepresence device 115 may include 4G LTEinterface 4035. Various graveside telepresence device 115 designs mayinclude microphone 515. Some graveside telepresence device 115implementations may include low-frequency speaker 133. In anillustrative example, various graveside telepresence device 115embodiment implementations may include laser pointer 130. Someembodiment graveside telepresence device 115 designs may includeinfrared light 915 to facilitate night vision. In various embodiments,an exemplary graveside telepresence device 115 may include one or moresuch features. Some features may be optional. In an illustrativeexample, the list of embodiment graveside telepresence device 115features is not exhaustive, exclusive, or limiting, and various featuresmay be included in any useful combination the skilled artisan mayrecognize as advantageous.

Although various embodiments have been described with reference to theFigures, other embodiments are possible. For example, in variousscenarios, some embodiment graveside telepresence devices may bereferred to as a GraveCam. Some GraveCam usage scenarios may include agraveside telepresence user interface implementation that may bereferred to as a GraveTime App. Some GraveCam designs may include alaser pointed at the memorial. In an illustrative example, the laser mayprovide a visual aid to show a user they are connected and speaking totheir loved one using an embodiment GraveTime App configured to providelive camera connections, personal diary options, and meditationsections.

Various GraveCam embodiment designs may include an ultra-low frequencyspeaker that is not audible by humans, to ensure privacy while connectedand speaking to the GraveCam. In some GraveCam embodiments, optionalpreset time-lapse images can be captured and delivered to the cloud atpreset scheduled times.

In an illustrative example, various GraveCam embodiment implementationsmay include Geofencing to prevent theft.

Some exemplary GraveCam embodiments may include versatile mounting andcamera positioning features. For example, in an illustrative GraveCamembodiment that may be referred to as MountCam, an extendable andflexible goose neck camera arm may be used to position the camera lens,microphone, Infrared (IR), and laser. Some MountCam embodiments mayinclude a special mount that clips to a memorial using spring loadedclamps. Some GraveCam embodiment designs may facilitate gravesidetelepresence in environments that are not conducive to mounting aGraveCam to a memorial. For example, a GraveCam embodiment designreferred to as GroundCam may be configured for installation on theground in view of a memorial, based on a special mounting plate thatanchors the GroundCam to the ground, secured by a lock to prevent theft.

In the Summary above and in this Detailed Description, and the Claimsbelow, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particularfeatures of various embodiments of the invention. It is to be understoodthat the disclosure of embodiments of the invention in thisspecification includes all possible combinations of such particularfeatures. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in thecontext of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or aparticular claim, that feature can also be used—to the extentpossible—in combination with and/or in the context of other particularaspects and embodiments of the invention, and in embodiments of theinvention generally.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthis detailed description. The invention is capable of myriadmodifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings anddescriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and notrestrictive.

It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may beemployed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize,even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-knowncomponents and processing techniques may be omitted so as to notunnecessarily obscure the embodiments.

In the present disclosure, various features may be described as beingoptional, for example, through the use of the verb “may;”, or, throughthe use of any of the phrases: “in some embodiments,” “in someimplementations,” “in some designs,” “in various embodiments,” “invarious implementations,”, “in various designs,” “in an illustrativeexample,” or “for example;” or, through the use of parentheses. For thesake of brevity and legibility, the present disclosure does notexplicitly recite each and every permutation that may be obtained bychoosing from the set of optional features. However, the presentdisclosure is to be interpreted as explicitly disclosing all suchpermutations. For example, a system described as having three optionalfeatures may be embodied in seven different ways, namely with just oneof the three possible features, with any two of the three possiblefeatures or with all three of the three possible features.

In various embodiments elements described herein as coupled or connectedmay have an effectual relationship realizable by a direct connection orindirectly with one or more other intervening elements.

In the present disclosure, the term “any” may be understood asdesignating any number of the respective elements, i.e. as designatingone, at least one, at least two, each or all of the respective elements.Similarly, the term “any” may be understood as designating anycollection(s) of the respective elements, i.e. as designating one ormore collections of the respective elements, a collection comprisingone, at least one, at least two, each or all of the respective elements.The respective collections need not comprise the same number ofelements.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been disclosedand described in detail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various changes may be made to the configuration, operationand form of the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. In particular, it is noted that the respective features ofembodiments of the invention, even those disclosed solely in combinationwith other features of embodiments of the invention, may be combined inany configuration excepting those readily apparent to the person skilledin the art as nonsensical. Likewise, use of the singular and plural issolely for the sake of illustration and is not to be interpreted aslimiting.

In the present disclosure, all embodiments where “comprising” is usedmay have as alternatives “consisting essentially of,” or “consistingof.” In the present disclosure, any method or apparatus embodiment maybe devoid of one or more process steps or components. In the presentdisclosure, embodiments employing negative limitations are expresslydisclosed and considered a part of this disclosure.

Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the presentdisclosure for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting.For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right”would refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is madeunless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward”would refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, thegeometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof.References in the singular tense include the plural, and vice versa,unless otherwise noted.

The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used hereinto mean that other components, ingredients, steps, among others, areoptionally present. For example, an embodiment “comprising” (or “whichcomprises”) components A, B and C can consist of (i.e., contain only)components A, B and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and Cbut also contain one or more other components.

Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or moredefined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order orsimultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), andthe method can include one or more other steps which are carried outbefore any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, orafter all the defined steps (except where the context excludes thatpossibility).

The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote thestart of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range havingan upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable beingdefined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “atmost” followed by a number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as itslower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon thevariable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in thisspecification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a secondnumber)” or “(a first number)-(a second number),” this means a rangewhose limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means arange whose lower limit is 25 mm and upper limit is 100 mm.

Many suitable methods and corresponding materials to make each of theindividual parts of embodiment apparatus are known in the art. Accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, one or more of the parts maybe formed by machining, 3D printing (also known as “additive”manufacturing), CNC machined parts (also known as “subtractive”manufacturing), and injection molding, as will be apparent to a personof ordinary skill in the art. Metals, wood, thermoplastic andthermosetting polymers, resins and elastomers as may be describedhereinabove may be used. Many suitable materials are known and availableand can be selected and mixed depending on desired strength andflexibility, preferred manufacturing method and particular use, as willbe apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Any element in a claim herein that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specificfunction, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause asspecified in 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f). Specifically, any use of “step of” inthe claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C.§ 112 (f). Elements recited in means-plus-function format are intendedto be construed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f).

Recitation in a claim of the term “first” with respect to a feature orelement does not necessarily imply the existence of a second oradditional such feature or element.

The phrases “connected to,” “coupled to” and “in communication with”refer to any form of interaction between two or more entities, includingmechanical, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, fluid, and thermalinteraction. Two components may be functionally coupled to each othereven though they are not in direct contact with each other. The term“abutting” refers to items that are in direct physical contact with eachother, although the items may not necessarily be attached together.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments. While the various aspects of theembodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarilydrawn to scale unless specifically indicated.

Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “theembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with that embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the quoted phrases, or variations thereof, as recitedthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the above description ofembodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a singleembodiment, Figure, or description thereof for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure, however, is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that any claim in this orany application claiming priority to this application require morefeatures than those expressly recited in that claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, some inventive aspects may lie in acombination of fewer than all features of any single foregoing disclosedembodiment. Thus, the claims following this Detailed Description arehereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. This disclosureincludes all permutations of the independent claims with their dependentclaims.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system andmethod may be accomplished through the use of one or more computingdevices. As depicted, for example, at least in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 40,and FIG. 42, one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that anexemplary system appropriate for use with embodiments in accordance withthe present application may generally include one or more of a Centralprocessing Unit (CPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), a storage medium(e.g., hard disk drive, solid state drive, flash memory, cloud storage),an operating system (OS), one or more application software, a displayelement, one or more communications means, or one or more input/outputdevices/means. Examples of computing devices usable with embodiments ofthe present invention include, but are not limited to, proprietarycomputing devices, personal computers, mobile computing devices, tabletPCs, mini-PCs, servers or any combination thereof. The term computingdevice may also describe two or more computing devices communicativelylinked in a manner as to distribute and share one or more resources,such as clustered computing devices and server banks/farms. One ofordinary skill in the art would understand that any number of computingdevices could be used, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any computing device.

In various embodiments, communications means, data store(s),processor(s), or memory may interact with other components on thecomputing device, in order to effect the provisioning and display ofvarious functionalities associated with the system and method detailedherein. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there arenumerous configurations that could be utilized with embodiments of thepresent invention, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any appropriate configuration.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communicationsmeans of the system may be, for instance, any means for communicatingdata over one or more networks or to one or more peripheral devicesattached to the system. Appropriate communications means may include,but are not limited to, circuitry and control systems for providingwireless connections, wired connections, cellular connections, data portconnections, Bluetooth connections, or any combination thereof. One ofordinary skill in the art would appreciate that there are numerouscommunications means that may be utilized with embodiments of thepresent invention, and embodiments of the present invention arecontemplated for use with any communications means.

Throughout this disclosure and elsewhere, block diagrams and flowchartillustrations depict methods, apparatuses (i.e., systems), and computerprogram products. Each element of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, as well as each respective combination of elements in theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, illustrates a function ofthe methods, apparatuses, and computer program products. Any and allsuch functions (“depicted functions”) can be implemented by computerprogram instructions; by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems; by combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions; by combinations of general purpose hardware and computerinstructions; and so on—any and all of which may be generally referredto herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.”

While the foregoing drawings and description may set forth functionalaspects of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangement of softwarefor implementing these functional aspects should be inferred from thesedescriptions unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from thecontext.

Each element in flowchart illustrations may depict a step, or group ofsteps, of a computer-implemented method. Further, each step may containone or more sub-steps. For the purpose of illustration, these steps (aswell as any and all other steps identified and described above) arepresented in order. It will be understood that an embodiment can containan alternate order of the steps adapted to a particular application of atechnique disclosed herein. All such variations and modifications areintended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. The depiction anddescription of steps in any particular order is not intended to excludeembodiments having the steps in a different order, unless required by aparticular application, explicitly stated, or otherwise clear from thecontext.

Traditionally, a computer program consists of a sequence ofcomputational instructions or program instructions. It will beappreciated that a programmable apparatus (i.e., computing device) canreceive such a computer program and, by processing the computationalinstructions thereof, produce a further technical effect.

A programmable apparatus may include one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signalprocessors, programmable devices, programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, memory devices, application specific integrated circuits,or the like, which can be suitably employed or configured to processcomputer program instructions, execute computer logic, store computerdata, and so on. Throughout this disclosure and elsewhere a computer caninclude any and all suitable combinations of at least one generalpurpose computer, special-purpose computer, programmable data processingapparatus, processor, processor architecture, and so on.

It will be understood that a computer can include a computer-readablestorage medium and that this medium may be internal or external,removable and replaceable, or fixed. It will also be understood that acomputer can include a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), firmware, anoperating system, a database, or the like that can include, interfacewith, or support the software and hardware described herein.

Embodiments of the system as described herein are not limited toapplications involving conventional computer programs or programmableapparatuses that run them. It is contemplated, for example, thatembodiments of the invention as claimed herein could include an opticalcomputer, quantum computer, analog computer, or the like.

Regardless of the type of computer program or computer involved, acomputer program can be loaded onto a computer to produce a particularmachine that can perform any and all of the depicted functions. Thisparticular machine provides a means for carrying out any and all of thedepicted functions.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-readablememory capable of directing a computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to function in a particular manner. Theinstructions stored in the computer-readable memory constitute anarticle of manufacture including computer-readable instructions forimplementing any and all of the depicted functions.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electromagnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

The elements depicted in flowchart illustrations and block diagramsthroughout the figures imply logical boundaries between the elements.However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, thedepicted elements and the functions thereof may be implemented as partsof a monolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, oras modules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth,or any combination of these. All such implementations are within thescope of the present disclosure.

Unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context, the verbs“execute” and “process” are used interchangeably to indicate execute,process, interpret, compile, assemble, link, load, any and allcombinations of the foregoing, or the like. Therefore, embodiments thatexecute or process computer program instructions, computer-executablecode, or the like can suitably act upon the instructions or code in anyand all of the ways just described.

The functions and operations presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structurefor a variety of these systems will be apparent to those of skill in theart, along with equivalent variations. In addition, embodiments of theinvention are not described with reference to any particular programminglanguage. It is appreciated that a variety of programming languages maybe used to implement the present teachings as described herein, and anyreferences to specific languages are provided for disclosure ofenablement and best mode of embodiments of the invention. Embodiments ofthe invention are well suited to a wide variety of computer networksystems over numerous topologies. Within this field, the configurationand management of large networks include storage devices and computersthat are communicatively coupled to dissimilar computers and storagedevices over a network, such as the Internet.

The embodiments disclosed hereinabove may be summarized as follows.

Embodiment 1

A process, comprising: a method to provide telepresence at a gravesidememorial, comprising: configuring a graveside communications device toexchange multimedia between a grave and a user's communications deviceremote from the grave; configuring the graveside communications deviceto activate an energy emitter adapted to physically interact with thegrave responsive to the remote user's activity; and, sending to theuser's communication device from the graveside communications device alive indication of the energy emitter physical interaction with thegrave.

Embodiment 2

The process of Embodiment 1, wherein the energy emitter furthercomprises a laser pointer adapted to emit light energy.

Embodiment 3

The process of Embodiment 2, wherein the laser pointer is disposed todirect light emitted by the laser pointer at a surface of the memorialwhen the laser pointer is activated.

Embodiment 4

The process of Embodiment 3, wherein the process further comprises:receiving, by the graveside device, an electronic message comprising acommand to the graveside device to redirect the laser pointer so thatthe light emitted by the laser pointer moves from a first location on asurface of the memorial to a second location on a surface of thememorial.

Embodiment 5

The process of Embodiment 4, wherein the process further comprises:sending, by the graveside device, an electronic message comprising anindication the light emitted by the laser pointer moved from the firstlocation on a surface of the memorial to the second location on asurface of the memorial, determined based on the graveside devicedetecting the laser pointer light reflected from the first location on asurface of the memorial and the laser pointer light reflected from thesecond location on a surface of the memorial.

Embodiment 6

The process of Embodiment 5, wherein the laser pointer light ismodulated as a function of the user activity.

Embodiment 7

The process of Embodiment 6, wherein the process further comprises:receiving, by the graveside device, an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,modulating, by the graveside device, the laser pointer light as afunction of the sound captured by the user's device.

Embodiment 8

The process of Embodiment 1, wherein the energy emitter furthercomprises a low frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energyconstrained to a frequency range below the lower limit of thehuman-audible frequency range, and wherein the sound energy emitted isnot audible by humans when the audio transducer is activated.

Embodiment 9

The process of Embodiment 8, wherein the low frequency audio transduceris disposed to direct sound emitted from the low frequency audiotransducer at the memorial when the low frequency audio transducer isactivated.

Embodiment 10

The process of Embodiment 9, wherein the process further comprises:receiving, by the graveside device, an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,activating, by the graveside device, the low frequency audio transduceras a function of the sound captured by the user's device.

Embodiment 11

A machine, comprising: a graveside memorial telepresence apparatus,comprising: a processor; a video camera, operably and communicativelycoupled with the processor; a wireless communication interface, operablyand communicatively coupled with the processor; and, a memory that isnot a transitory propagating signal, the memory operably connected tothe processor and encoding computer readable instructions, includingprocessor executable program instructions, the computer readableinstructions accessible to the processor, wherein the processorexecutable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising: exchange multimedia betweena grave and a user's communications device remote from the grave;activate an energy emitter adapted to physically interact with the graveresponsive to the remote user's activity; and, send to the user'scommunication device a live indication of the energy emitter physicalinteraction with the grave.

Embodiment 12

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein the video camera furthercomprises a microphone.

Embodiment 13

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein multimedia further comprises atleast one of audio, an image, or video.

Embodiment 14

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein exchange multimedia furthercomprises send an electronic message comprising multimedia captured atthe grave.

Embodiment 15

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein exchange multimedia furthercomprises receive an electronic message comprising multimedia capturedby the user's communications device remote from the grave.

Embodiment 16

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein the energy emitter furthercomprises a laser pointer adapted to emit light energy.

Embodiment 17

The apparatus of Embodiment 16, wherein the laser pointer is disposed todirect light emitted by the laser pointer at a surface of the memorialwhen the laser pointer is activated.

Embodiment 18

The apparatus of Embodiment 17, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprising acommand to redirect the laser pointer so that the light emitted by thelaser pointer moves from a first location on a surface of the memorialto a second location on a surface of the memorial.

Embodiment 19

The apparatus of Embodiment 18, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: sending an electronic message comprising anindication the light emitted by the laser pointer moved from the firstlocation on a surface of the memorial to the second location on asurface of the memorial, determined based on detecting the laser pointerlight reflected from the first location on a surface of the memorial andthe laser pointer light reflected from the second location on a surfaceof the memorial.

Embodiment 20

The apparatus of Embodiment 19, wherein the laser pointer light ismodulated as a function of the user activity.

Embodiment 21

The apparatus of Embodiment 20, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,modulating the laser pointer light as a function of the sound capturedby the user's device.

Embodiment 22

The apparatus of Embodiment 11, wherein the energy emitter furthercomprises a low frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energyconstrained to a frequency range below the lower limit of thehuman-audible frequency range, and wherein the sound energy emitted isnot audible by humans when the audio transducer is activated.

Embodiment 23

The apparatus of Embodiment 22, wherein the low frequency audiotransducer is disposed to direct sound emitted from the low frequencyaudio transducer at the memorial when the low frequency audio transduceris activated.

Embodiment 24

The apparatus of Embodiment 23, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,activating the low frequency audio transducer as a function of the soundcaptured by the user's device.

Embodiment 25

A machine, comprising: a graveside memorial telepresence apparatus,comprising: a processor; a video camera, comprising an optical imagesensor and a microphone, wherein the video camera is operably andcommunicatively coupled with the processor; a wireless communicationinterface, operably and communicatively coupled with the processor; anenergy emitter, comprising: a laser pointer adapted to emit lightenergy, wherein the laser pointer is operably and communicativelycoupled with the processor, and wherein the laser pointer orientation inthree dimensional space is governed by a pan and tilt apparatus operablyand communicatively coupled with the laser pointer and the processor;and, a low frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energyconstrained to a frequency range below the lower limit of thehuman-audible frequency range, wherein the low frequency audiotransducer is disposed to direct sound emitted from the low frequencyaudio transducer at the memorial when the low frequency audio transduceris activated, and wherein the low frequency audio transducer is operablyand communicatively coupled with the processor; and, a memory that isnot a transitory propagating signal, the memory operably connected tothe processor and encoding computer readable instructions, includingprocessor executable program instructions, the computer readableinstructions accessible to the processor, wherein the processorexecutable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising: exchange multimedia betweena grave and a user's communications device remote from the grave,wherein the multimedia comprises at least one of audio, an image, orvideo, and wherein exchange multimedia comprises: send an electronicmessage comprising multimedia captured at the grave; and, receive anelectronic message comprising multimedia captured by the user'scommunications device remote from the grave; and, activate the energyemitter to physically interact with the grave responsive to the remoteuser's activity, comprising receiving an electronic message comprising acommand to reorient the laser pointer so that the light emitted by thelaser pointer moves from incidence at a first location on a surface ofthe memorial to incidence at a second location on a surface of thememorial; and, send to the user's communication device a live indicationof the energy emitter physical interaction with the grave, comprisingsending an electronic message comprising an indication the light emittedby the laser pointer moved from incidence at a first location on asurface of the memorial to incidence at a second location on a surfaceof the memorial, determined based on detecting the laser pointer lightreflected from the first location on a surface of the memorial anddetecting the laser pointer light reflected from the second location ona surface of the memorial.

Embodiment 26

The apparatus of Embodiment 25, wherein the laser pointer light ismodulated as a function of the user activity.

Embodiment 27

The apparatus of Embodiment 25, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,modulate the laser pointer light as a function of the sound captured bythe user's device.

Embodiment 28

The apparatus of Embodiment 25, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,activate the low frequency audio transducer as a function of the soundcaptured by the user's device.

Embodiment 29

The apparatus of Embodiment 25, wherein detecting the laser pointerlight further comprises object tracking as a function of video capturedby the graveside memorial telepresence apparatus.

Embodiment 30

The apparatus of Embodiment 25, wherein detecting the laser pointerlight further comprises optical flow as a function of video captured bythe graveside memorial telepresence apparatus.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made. For example,advantageous results may be achieved if the steps of the disclosedtechniques were performed in a different sequence, or if components ofthe disclosed systems were combined in a different manner, or if thecomponents were supplemented with other components. Accordingly, otherimplementations are contemplated within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to provide telepresence at a gravesidememorial, comprising: configuring a graveside communications device toexchange multimedia between a grave and a user's communications deviceremote from the grave; configuring the graveside communications deviceto activate an energy emitter adapted to physically interact with thegrave responsive to the remote user's activity; and, sending to theuser's communication device from the graveside communications device alive indication of the energy emitter physical interaction with thegrave.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy emitter furthercomprises a laser pointer adapted to emit light energy.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the laser pointer is disposed to direct light emittedby the laser pointer at a surface of the memorial when the laser pointeris activated.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method furthercomprises: receiving, by the graveside device, an electronic messagecomprising a command to the graveside device to redirect the laserpointer so that the light emitted by the laser pointer moves from afirst location on a surface of the memorial to a second location on asurface of the memorial.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the methodfurther comprises: sending, by the graveside device, an electronicmessage comprising an indication the light emitted by the laser pointermoved from the first location on a surface of the memorial to the secondlocation on a surface of the memorial, determined based on the gravesidedevice detecting the laser pointer light reflected from the firstlocation on a surface of the memorial and the laser pointer lightreflected from the second location on a surface of the memorial.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the laser pointer light is modulated as afunction of the user activity.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein themethod further comprises: receiving, by the graveside device, anelectronic message comprising data representative of sound captured bythe user's device; and, modulating, by the graveside device, the laserpointer light as a function of the sound captured by the user's device.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy emitter further comprises alow frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energy constrainedto a frequency range below the lower limit of the human-audiblefrequency range, and wherein the sound energy emitted is not audible byhumans when the audio transducer is activated.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the low frequency audio transducer is disposed to direct soundemitted from the low frequency audio transducer at the memorial when thelow frequency audio transducer is activated.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the gravesidedevice, an electronic message comprising data representative of soundcaptured by the user's device; and, activating, by the graveside device,the low frequency audio transducer as a function of the sound capturedby the user's device.
 11. An apparatus configured to providetelepresence at a graveside memorial, comprising: a processor; a videocamera, operably and communicatively coupled with the processor; awireless communication interface, operably and communicatively coupledwith the processor; and, a memory that is not a transitory propagatingsignal, the memory operably connected to the processor and encodingcomputer readable instructions, including processor executable programinstructions, the computer readable instructions accessible to theprocessor, wherein the processor executable instructions, when executedby the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:exchange multimedia between a grave and a user's communications deviceremote from the grave; activate an energy emitter adapted to physicallyinteract with the grave responsive to the remote user's activity; and,send to the user's communication device a live indication of the energyemitter physical interaction with the grave.
 12. The apparatus of claim11, wherein the video camera further comprises a microphone.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein multimedia further comprises at least oneof audio, an image, or video.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinexchange multimedia further comprises send an electronic messagecomprising multimedia captured at the grave.
 15. The apparatus of claim11, wherein exchange multimedia further comprises receive an electronicmessage comprising multimedia captured by the user's communicationsdevice remote from the grave.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theenergy emitter further comprises a laser pointer adapted to emit lightenergy.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the laser pointer isdisposed to direct light emitted by the laser pointer at a surface ofthe memorial when the laser pointer is activated.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 17, wherein the operations performed by the processor furthercomprise: receive an electronic message comprising a command to redirectthe laser pointer so that the light emitted by the laser pointer movesfrom a first location on a surface of the memorial to a second locationon a surface of the memorial.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein theoperations performed by the processor further comprise: send anelectronic message comprising an indication the light emitted by thelaser pointer moved from the first location on a surface of the memorialto the second location on a surface of the memorial, determined based ondetecting the laser pointer light reflected from the first location on asurface of the memorial and the laser pointer light reflected from thesecond location on a surface of the memorial.
 20. The apparatus of claim19, wherein the laser pointer light is modulated as a function of theuser activity.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the operationsperformed by the processor further comprise: receive an electronicmessage comprising data representative of sound captured by the user'sdevice; and, modulate the laser pointer light as a function of the soundcaptured by the user's device.
 22. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe energy emitter further comprises a low frequency audio transduceradapted to emit sound energy constrained to a frequency range below thelower limit of the human-audible frequency range, and wherein the soundenergy emitted is not audible by humans when the audio transducer isactivated.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the low frequencyaudio transducer is disposed to direct sound emitted from the lowfrequency audio transducer at the memorial when the low frequency audiotransducer is activated.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein theoperations performed by the processor further comprise: receive anelectronic message comprising data representative of sound captured bythe user's device; and, activate the low frequency audio transducer as afunction of the sound captured by the user's device.
 25. An apparatusconfigured to provide telepresence at a graveside memorial, comprising:a processor; a video camera, comprising an optical image sensor and amicrophone, wherein the video camera is operably and communicativelycoupled with the processor; a wireless communication interface, operablyand communicatively coupled with the processor; an energy emitter,comprising: a laser pointer adapted to emit light energy, wherein thelaser pointer is operably and communicatively coupled with theprocessor, and wherein the laser pointer orientation in threedimensional space is governed by a pan and tilt control operably andcommunicatively coupled with the laser pointer and the processor; and, alow frequency audio transducer adapted to emit sound energy constrainedto a frequency range below the lower limit of the human-audiblefrequency range, wherein the low frequency audio transducer is disposedto direct sound emitted from the low frequency audio transducer at thememorial when the low frequency audio transducer is activated, andwherein the low frequency audio transducer is operably andcommunicatively coupled with the processor; and, a memory that is not atransitory propagating signal, the memory operably connected to theprocessor and encoding computer readable instructions, includingprocessor executable program instructions, the computer readableinstructions accessible to the processor, wherein the processorexecutable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising: exchange multimedia betweena grave and a user's communications device remote from the grave,wherein the multimedia comprises at least one of audio, an image, orvideo, and wherein exchange multimedia comprises: send an electronicmessage comprising multimedia captured at the grave; and, receive anelectronic message comprising multimedia captured by the user'scommunications device remote from the grave; and, activate the energyemitter to physically interact with the grave responsive to the remoteuser's activity, comprising: receive an electronic message comprising acommand to reorient the laser pointer so that the light emitted by thelaser pointer moves from incidence at a first location on a surface ofthe memorial to incidence at a second location on a surface of thememorial; and, send to the user's communication device a live indicationof the energy emitter physical interaction with the grave, comprising:send an electronic message comprising an indication the light emitted bythe laser pointer moved from incidence at a first location on a surfaceof the memorial to incidence at a second location on a surface of thememorial, determined based on detecting the laser pointer lightreflected from the first location on a surface of the memorial anddetecting the laser pointer light reflected from the second location ona surface of the memorial.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein thelaser pointer light is modulated as a function of the user activity. 27.The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the operations performed by theprocessor further comprise: receive an electronic message comprisingdata representative of sound captured by the user's device; and,modulate the laser pointer light as a function of the sound captured bythe user's device.
 28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the operationsperformed by the processor further comprise: receive an electronicmessage comprising data representative of sound captured by the user'sdevice; and, activate the low frequency audio transducer as a functionof the sound captured by the user's device.
 29. The apparatus of claim25, wherein detecting the laser pointer light further comprises objecttracking as a function of video captured by the graveside memorialtelepresence apparatus.
 30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein detectingthe laser pointer light further comprises optical flow as a function ofvideo captured by the graveside memorial telepresence apparatus.